1. in a kind, gentle, and harmless manner

Examples

• The elderly professor smiled benignantly at his nervous students.
• She nodded benignantly when asked to help with the charity event.
• The judge looked benignantly upon the first-time offender.
• He spoke benignantly to the children, reassuring them after the storm.
• The grandmother watched benignantly as her grandchildren played in the garden.
• The doctor explained the procedure benignantly, easing the patient’s fears.