Meaning & use
giving
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableapproving
Generous and ready to share with others.
Grammar: Describes people: a giving person.
Patterns
- a giving person
She is a warm and giving person.
The giving nature of the community was clear after the flood.
He has always been giving with his time.
noununcountable
The act of offering or donating something to others.
Grammar: Used without an article: the joy of giving.
Patterns
- the giving of something
The holidays are a season of giving.
He found happiness in giving.
The giving of gifts is a custom in many cultures.
adjectivecomparable
Flexible or yielding when pressed, as a surface does.
Grammar: Describes a surface or material that bends slightly.
The mattress is firm but slightly giving.
The soil is soft and giving after rain.
She prefers a giving surface for running.
Common combinations
- season of giving
- December is often called the season of giving.
- giving person
- He is a giving person who volunteers weekly.
- charitable giving
- Charitable giving rises at year's end.
- gift giving
- Gift giving is part of the festival.
- selfless giving
- Their selfless giving helped many.
Synonyms and how they differ
- generous
- The usual word for willingness to give, and it can apply to amounts as well as people.
- charitable
- Stresses helping those in need.
- donating
- Means giving, usually money or goods to a cause.
- yielding
- Fits the flexible surface sense, with a more technical tone.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: giving or forgiving?
giving vs forgiving
Giving means generous, whereas forgiving means willing to pardon.
Practice
Which phrase uses giving as a noun?
Choose one answer.
In the season of giving, giving is a noun meaning the act of giving. In the others it describes another noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “giving”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.