Benignity (from Latin benignus "kind, good", itself deriving from from bonus "good" and genus "origin") is any condition that is harmless in the long run. The opposite of benign is malignant.
- In oncology (medical specialists who study cancer)
- Benign tumor
- Outside oncology
- Benign intracranial hypertension
- Benign myalgic encephalomyelitis
- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
- Benign prostatic hyperplasia
- Benign tertian malaria (malaria caused specifically by Plasmodium vivax or Plasmodium ovale)
Famous quotes containing the word benign:
“It took nine years, and a great depression, and two wars ending in defeat, and one surrender without war, to break my faith in the benign power of the press. Gradually I came to realize that people will more readily swallow lies than truth, as if the taste of lies was homey, appetizing: a habit.”
—Martha Gellhorn (b. 1908)
“My life is superficial, takes no root in the deep world; I ask, When shall I die, and be relieved of the responsibility of seeing a Universe which I do not use? I wish to exchange this flash-of-lightning faith for continuous daylight, this fever-glow for a benign climate.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)