White spots on the skin can unsettle anyone, especially when they appear on bare arms or lower legs. They look simple, yet they rarely have one simple explanation. Some come from harmless surface ...

Understanding the Context

That mysterious dark spot on your arm. The raised bump that appeared overnight. The cluster of tiny dots near your shoulder. When new marks appear on your skin, it’s natural to feel concerned about ...

Key Insights

Benign traces back to the Latin adjective benignus, which was formed from bene, meaning "well," and the verb gignere, "to beget "—that is, "to produce or create." Gignere is also the root of such English words as genius and germ, and even shares distant ancestry with kin. 1. of kindly disposition; gracious: a benign king. 2. showing or expressive of gentleness or kindness.

Final Thoughts

3. favorable; propitious: benign omens. 4. clement: benign weather. Definition of benign adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

medical (of a disease or tissue growing because of a disease) not likely to result in death: a benign tumor (Definition of benign from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) You use benign to describe someone who is kind, gentle, and harmless. They are normally a more benign audience. Benign refers to a condition, tumor, or growth that is not cancerous. This means that it does not spread to other parts of the body.