To be magnanimous is to be big-hearted where it's hardest: toward a rival you beat, a critic who wronged you, or someone who can do nothing for you in return. It's the word this site is named after, so here is the full story — what it means today, where it comes from, and why philosophers argued about it for two thousand years.
Short definition: Magnanimous (adjective) describes a person or act that is generous in spirit — rising above pettiness, resentment and score-keeping, especially toward an opponent or someone who has done you wrong. The noun is magnanimity.
The modern definition
Dictionaries give the word two closely linked senses. Merriam-Webster describes magnanimous as showing or suggesting a "lofty and courageous spirit," and also as generous and kind in nature (Merriam-Webster: magnanimous). Its entry for the noun is the most vivid: magnanimity is a loftiness of spirit that lets a person bear trouble calmly, disdain meanness and pettiness, and display a noble generosity (Merriam-Webster: magnanimity).
Notice what is in that definition and what isn't. Money isn't mentioned. Magnanimity is about the size of your spirit, and it shows most clearly in moments when you could be small: after a win, after an insult, after someone fails you.
Where the word comes from
The word is Latin all the way down. Magnus means "great" and animus means "mind, soul, spirit," so the Latin magnanimus literally means "great-souled." English adopted magnanimous in the 1580s, first in the sense of "nobly brave or valiant." By the 1590s it had taken on the meaning we lean on today: "elevated in soul or sentiment, superior to petty resentments" (Online Etymology Dictionary).
The Latin noun magnanimitas is itself a calque — a word-for-word translation — of the Greek megalopsychia, "greatness of soul" (Wikipedia: Magnanimity). That Greek word was made famous by Aristotle.
Aristotle's megalopsychia: the "great-souled" person
In Book IV of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle describes a virtue usually translated as "greatness of soul," "magnanimity," or (in W. D. Ross's classic translation) "pride." Like his other virtues, it sits between two vices. The great-souled person, Ross's translation says, "thinks himself worthy of great things, being worthy of them." Someone who claims too little is "unduly humble"; someone who claims more than he deserves is "vain" (Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics IV.3, trans. W. D. Ross).
Two parts of Aristotle's portrait still shape what we mean by the word:
- Generous in benefits. He is "the sort of man to confer benefits," Aristotle writes, though the same passage says he is "ashamed of receiving them" — a trait modern readers find less admirable.
- Not a grudge-keeper. "It is not the part of a proud man to have a long memory, especially for wrongs, but rather to overlook them." This is the root of the modern sense: big enough to let things go.
Aristotle also ranks the virtue highly. As the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes, he treats greatness of soul as a higher excellence than the ordinary virtue concerned with honor, and pictures the political leader's life as one exercising qualities like justice and greatness of soul to a high degree (SEP: Aristotle's Ethics).
Why scholars still argue: Aristotle's great-souled man can sound aloof, even arrogant — he cares about honor, dislikes asking for help, and is even said to have "a slow step" and "a deep voice" (NE IV.3). Scholars still note that there is no consensus about the nature and significance of the great-souled man (The Review of Politics, "Aristotle's Great-Souled Man"). The word we use today kept the generosity and the freedom from grudges, and mostly dropped the hauteur.
Aquinas: magnanimity without arrogance
Thomas Aquinas took up the virtue in the 13th century and helped soften it. "Magnanimity by its very name denotes stretching forth of the mind to great things," he writes in the Summa Theologiae. He classes it as a part of fortitude — courage applied not to facing danger but to pursuing great goods. And he argues it isn't the opposite of humility: magnanimity makes a person "deem himself worthy of great things in consideration of the gifts he holds from God," while humility keeps an honest eye on one's own shortcomings (Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, Question 129).
That combination — aiming high while staying humble — is close to how we use the word now. A magnanimous person is confident enough not to need the last word.
Magnanimous vs. generous: what's the difference?
Aristotle himself separated these. Just before greatness of soul, Book IV discusses liberality, the virtue concerned with giving and taking wealth, and magnificence, fitting generosity on a grand scale (Nicomachean Ethics IV.1–2). Generosity is about what you give. Magnanimity is about the spirit you give it in — and it covers things that cost no money at all.
| Word | Core idea | Typical example |
|---|---|---|
| Generous | Giving freely of money, time or things | Covering a friend's rent for a month |
| Magnanimous | Big-spirited, especially toward rivals or people who wronged you | Praising the opponent who just beat you, and meaning it |
| Gracious | Courteous, warm and considerate in manner | Thanking the referee after a hard loss |
| Charitable | Giving to those in need; also reading others kindly | Assuming a late colleague had a good reason |
| Forgiving | Releasing resentment for a specific wrong | Letting go of an old family argument |
| Benevolent | Wishing and doing good, often from a position of power | A boss who quietly protects a struggling employee |
| Altruistic | Acting for others' benefit at a cost to yourself | Donating a kidney to a stranger |
The opposites are useful too: petty, small-minded, vindictive, spiteful, grudging, mean-spirited. If any of those describe the easy reaction in a moment, the magnanimous one is usually its reverse.
How to use "magnanimous" in a sentence
The word works best when there was a smaller option available. Some original examples:
- "In a magnanimous gesture, the losing candidate walked across the stage to shake her rival's hand."
- "He was magnanimous in victory, crediting the other team's goalkeeper before mentioning his own goal."
- "It would have been easy to gloat; her magnanimity in letting the old feud go surprised everyone."
- "The founder magnanimously gave the departing engineer full credit for the design."
Two common slips: magnanimous is not a synonym for "rich" or "lavish" (a huge gift given grudgingly isn't magnanimous), and it isn't the same as unanimous, which means everyone agrees.
For real-world illustrations, see our collection of famous magnanimous acts in history and sport, and the practical guide to winning and losing graciously.
Practicing magnanimity day to day
Unlike some virtues, magnanimity has obvious training moments, because rivalry and slights are everywhere.
- Credit generously. Name the people who helped, especially when you'd look better taking it alone.
- Win quietly. Acknowledge the opponent first. Save the celebration for your own people.
- Shorten your memory for wrongs. Aristotle's line about overlooking injuries is a decent daily rule — while still protecting yourself from real harm.
- Assume the best reading. When a message stings, consider the most charitable explanation before replying.
- Give where no one keeps score. Anonymous or unreturnable kindness is magnanimity's purest form. Our kindness ideas list is full of them.
There is also a practical upside: research on giving suggests generous acts tend to lift the giver's mood a little, too — see the science of giving.
Frequently asked questions
What does magnanimous mean in simple words?
Big-hearted and generous in spirit — especially toward rivals or people who have wronged you. A magnanimous person rises above pettiness and grudges.
What is the origin of the word magnanimous?
It comes from Latin magnanimus, "great-souled," from magnus (great) and animus (soul, spirit). It entered English in the 1580s, and by the 1590s meant "superior to petty resentments."
What is megalopsychia?
It's the Greek word Aristotle used in the Nicomachean Ethics, Book IV, for "greatness of soul": the virtue of a person who rightly thinks himself worthy of great things. Latin writers translated it as magnanimitas, the source of "magnanimity."
Is magnanimous the same as generous?
Not quite. Generosity is about giving money, time or things. Magnanimity is about the spirit of your conduct, especially toward opponents — it can cost nothing at all, like congratulating someone who beat you.
How do you pronounce magnanimous?
mag-NAN-uh-mus, with the stress on the second syllable.
What is the opposite of magnanimous?
Petty, small-minded, vindictive, spiteful or mean-spirited.
Sources
- Merriam-Webster — magnanimous (definition)
- Merriam-Webster — magnanimity (definition)
- Online Etymology Dictionary — magnanimous
- Aristotle — Nicomachean Ethics, Book IV, trans. W. D. Ross (MIT Internet Classics Archive)
- Wikipedia — Magnanimity (Latin calque of megalopsychia)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Aristotle's Ethics
- The Review of Politics (Cambridge) — Aristotle's Great-Souled Man
- Thomas Aquinas — Summa Theologiae II-II, Question 129: Magnanimity (New Advent)