How to Use benign in a Sentence

benign

adjective
  • We were happy to hear that the tumor was benign.
  • States and cities will see revenue and outlays change, too, and the balance there is unlikely to be so benign.
    Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 10 Oct. 2024
  • In that report, it was learned Trump had high cholesterol, was overweight and had rosacea, a benign skin disease.
    Fritz Farrow, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2024
  • The weather during the first full weekend of February has been rather benign.
    Washington Post, 5 Feb. 2022
  • As a benign but wise grandmother, with a soft lap, a smile, no thoughts but ones of love, encouragement, optimism.
    Miriam Toews, The New Yorker, 7 Feb. 2022
  • This benign rash develops in a lacy pattern, says Dr. Koval.
    Sarah Bradley, Health.com, 1 Feb. 2022
  • That subversive device of slathering ominous music over benign images cranks up the dread throughout.
    David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Feb. 2022
  • The Narrator finds a more benign form of connection by the end, clasping Marla’s hand in the final scene.
    Stephen Kearse, The Atlantic, 15 Oct. 2024
  • At its most benign, teachers are seeing kids who cannot focus in class, can’t stop looking at their phones, and can’t figure out how to interact with other students in all the normal ways.
    Laura Meckler, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Jan. 2022
  • This chemistry is benign to more complex organisms and will quickly biodegrade into inert ingredients.
    Steven Savage, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024
  • This all assumes a benign economic backdrop and a stable interest rate environment; any potential shock could force higher spending.
    Courtenay Brown, Axios, 16 Oct. 2024
  • Farther south, the effects of the heat are less benign.
    Alejandra Borunda, National Geographic, 30 Sep. 2019
  • In the moment, that Marisnick did not catch the ball was benign.
    Chandler Rome, Houston Chronicle, 29 June 2018
  • Closer to the surface of the Earth, the effect is not so benign.
    Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 15 May 2024
  • More benign footage has been removed from the video, as well.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 26 July 2023
  • Odds are the lump is benign, and your guy may not need to address it at all.
    Jenna Birch, Health.com, 16 Mar. 2018
  • There are about 4,000 species of snails worldwide and most are benign.
    Bill Heavey, Field & Stream, 5 Aug. 2020
  • But the tumor was benign, and Quinn had surgery to enable him to live with the tumor.
    Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 27 Apr. 2022
  • Some of the pictures are as benign as a day at the beach, but others smack of danger.
    Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 24 June 2022
  • At first glance, the items listed for sale on Craigslist seemed benign: Blue socks.
    Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2024
  • The intent might be as benign as the creative use of language.
    Robert Myers, Quartz, 8 Aug. 2019
  • The current that cut that canyon looks shallow and benign.
    Keith McCafferty, Field & Stream, 11 Dec. 2020
  • The benign terra cotta heads were deemed by some to be racist.
    John Kass, chicagotribune.com, 2 June 2017
  • But the most dispiriting sounds of all are often the most benign.
    Eben Weiss, Outside Online, 17 Mar. 2022
  • Doctors removed the mass, which turned out to be benign.
    al, 26 Apr. 2021
  • Sulin, in turn, assured her daughter that the growth was benign.
    Jiayang Fan, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2020
  • That might seem benign, or perhaps even endearing—the sound of the bustle of the big city.
    Kate Wagner, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2018
  • At first, the ghostly sightings are benign, but then the spirit asks to move into the doll.
    Eliza Thompson, Cosmopolitan, 20 June 2017
  • Uterine fibroids are benign tumors that grow in and around the uterus.
    Sumathi Reddy, WSJ, 23 Oct. 2017
  • But as with many things in life, a benign trend gone too far can become a problem.
    Matthew Yglesias, Vox, 3 Apr. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'benign.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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