Meaning & use
generosity of spirit
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Meaning
phraseuncountable
A kind, forgiving attitude that assumes the best of other people and gives freely of warmth, time, or understanding.
Grammar: Used as an uncountable noun phrase: she showed great generosity of spirit. Do not say 'a generosity of spirit' or 'generosity of spirits'.
Patterns
- show generosity of spirit
- a person of generosity of spirit
- with generosity of spirit
Even after the argument, she treated her colleague with generosity of spirit.
His generosity of spirit made him the person everyone turned to in a crisis.
The award praised her generosity of spirit as much as her hard work.
Common combinations
- show generosity of spirit
- He showed real generosity of spirit by praising the rival team.
- a person of generosity of spirit
- Her teacher was a person of great generosity of spirit.
- treat someone with generosity of spirit
- Try to treat your critics with generosity of spirit.
- an act of generosity of spirit
- Forgiving him so quickly was an act of generosity of spirit.
Synonyms and how they differ
- magnanimity
- Magnanimity is more formal and often suggests rising above a defeat or insult; generosity of spirit is warmer and more everyday.
- kindness
- Kindness is broader and can mean any helpful act; generosity of spirit specifically suggests a generous inner attitude toward people.
Opposites
Word family
- generous adjective
- Willing to give money, help, or praise freely.
- generously adverb
- In a giving or plentiful way.
- generosity noun
- The quality of being willing to give.
Commonly confused: generosity of spirit or generous spirit?
generosity of spirit vs generous spirit
Generosity of spirit describes a person's kind attitude; 'a generous spirit' can mean a generous person or a generous mood or atmosphere.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'generosity of spirit' correctly.
Choose one answer.
The phrase is uncountable and describes an attitude toward people, so 'showed great generosity of spirit toward' fits. 'A generosity' (A) is wrong because it is uncountable; (C) treats it as a gift you can give; (D) uses 'spirits', which means a mood, not this quality.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “generosity of spirit”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.