samaritan

adjective

Definition of samaritannext
as in compassionate

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of samaritan This law offers good samaritan protection for witnesses of university hazing who call 911 or attempt to give medical aid. — Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for samaritan
  1. compassionate
  2. sympathetic
  3. kind
  4. kindly
  5. humanitarian
  6. good-hearted
  7. altruistic
  8. magnanimous
Adjective
  • Rodriguez described her daughter as kind, compassionate and full of life.
    — Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 2 Oct. 2026
  • His story demonstrates that innovation in caregiving can make communities more compassionate, connected and responsive.
    — The Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of compassionate
Adjective
  • That her means of exit is abandoning her newborn twins is less than sympathetic, but in a different era Cathy would have options beyond a domesticity that never suited her in the first place.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026
  • In my experience, many corporate teams drift between sympathetic over-activation (burnout) and dorsal shutdown (disengagement).
    — Roy Ward, Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of sympathetic
Adjective
  • The five years between home playoff games were not kind to fans of the South Siders.
    — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026
  • For her performance as Thelma, the kind young stranger who shares a bus trip with the elderly woman returning to her long-ago home in Bountiful, Saint won the 1954 Outer Critics Circle Special Award.
    — Greg Evans, Deadline, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of kind
Adjective
  • Graise knows just what to do with a role like Philip, who is seen as kindly and self-sufficient but insecure and treated unjustly by the community.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Reiner appeared as the kindly Albert Schnurr, a restaurant consultant and mentor to line cook Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson), on season 4 of the culinary drama.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of kindly
Adjective
  • The war created one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters and killed more than 150,000 people.
    — AHMED AL-HAJ, Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Ireland has committed more than $754 million in humanitarian assistance, military training and other non-lethal support to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 while stopping short of providing lethal weapons.
    — Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of humanitarian
Adjective
  • White’s Jimmy Hurdstrom is a good-hearted yet rough-around-the-edges ranch hand who evolved from a troubled criminal into a resilient, proud cowboy.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026
  • With its good-hearted heroes and pretty (but rarely breathtaking) landscapes, the Apple release is plenty likable, but also plenty forgettable.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of good-hearted
Adjective
  • And Sanders is credited as an altruistic, creative genius by diners, influencers and the media.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
  • On a more altruistic front, Leighton also stands ready to end a gruesome pandemic in another world, turning up with vaccines and medications like a multidimensional DoorDash service.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of altruistic
Adjective
  • Given the circumstances, his commitment was defiantly magnanimous.
    — John Phipps, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Deadpool is proving to be surprisingly magnanimous as the flippant character loses a box office record to The Odyssey.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of magnanimous

Browse Nearby Words

salvos
samaritan
Sam Browne belt
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Samaritan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/samaritan. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of inscrutable

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
a cup of tea and a golf ball on tee side by side
Quiz: Sounds Like... Choose the word that sounds like it fits the clue...
See All