Meaning & use
beneficialness
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountablerareformal
The quality of being helpful or producing good results.
Grammar: Uncountable; used mainly in formal or technical writing, not in everyday conversation.
Patterns
- the beneficialness of something
- beneficialness to someone
The beneficialness of the new policy was questioned by several experts.
Researchers measured the beneficialness of the treatment in a controlled study.
Few writers use 'beneficialness'; 'benefit' or 'usefulness' sounds more natural.
Common combinations
- the beneficialness of
- The beneficialness of the scheme depends on how it is funded.
- question the beneficialness
- Some critics question the beneficialness of such expensive projects.
- measure the beneficialness
- It is hard to measure the beneficialness of a mentoring program.
Synonyms and how they differ
- benefit
- Much more common and concrete; it refers to the good result itself, not the quality of being good.
- usefulness
- Focuses on practical value rather than moral or general good.
- advantage
- Suggests a benefit compared with other options, often in competitive contexts.
Opposites
Word family
- beneficial adjective
- Producing good results; the adjective form.
- beneficially adverb
- In a way that produces good results.
- benefit noun
- A helpful or good effect.
Commonly confused: beneficialness or beneficence?
beneficialness vs beneficence
Means the quality of doing good or being generous, not simply being helpful.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'beneficialness' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 uses the noun correctly as the subject of 'was tested'. Option 1 repeats the adjective 'beneficial' awkwardly; option 2 adds an unnecessary clause; option 3 wrongly uses the noun as an adjective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “beneficialness”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.