Magnanimous
— generous and forgiving; noble in spirit, especially toward a rival
Magnanimous describes someone who is generous in forgiving others, especially when they have the power to punish or take revenge. It suggests nobility of spirit — rising above pettiness. A magnanimous leader forgives their defeated opponent rather than humiliating them.
Do you know what Magnanimous means?
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Memory Mnemonic
MAG NANI MUS (MAGAZINE NANNY MUST)
The keyword MAGAZINE NANNY MUST comes from how Magnanimous sounds — "mag-nanim-ous" naturally breaks into MAG NANI MUS. This sound connection makes it easy to recall the keyword whenever you hear or see the word.
Memory Link
The MAGAZINE said the NANNY MUST be the kindest person alive—she was generous and forgiving, truly noble!
Notice how the memory link places a nanny featured in a magazine for her extraordinary kindness. Both the keyword — MAGAZINE NANNY MUST — and the meaning — generous and forgiving, noble — are woven into one vivid scene. Visualise this nanny on the magazine cover, radiating warmth and forgiveness.
HOW TO MEMORIZE VOCABULARY
There are 3 steps to effectively memorising vocabulary.
Step 1: Derive a keyword from the word based on how the word is spelled or pronounced. Next time you see the word, you will be able to derive the keyword from it because it is based on the word.
Step 2: Form a visual memory link that connects the keyword and the meaning(s) of the word you are learning.
Step 3: Ensure to Visualise the image, see it in your imagination. This is important even if it takes a few seconds.
Usage Examples
- In a magnanimous gesture, the winner praised her opponent's effort publicly.
- Despite being cheated, she was magnanimous enough to forgive and move on.
- The magnanimous donor gave away half his fortune without seeking any recognition.
- A truly magnanimous leader lifts others up rather than holding grudges.
- His magnanimous response to the criticism surprised everyone who expected retaliation.
Etymology of Magnanimous
From Latin magnanimis, combining magnus (great) and animus (soul/spirit) — literally "great-souled." The word has retained this sense of noble generosity since entering English in the 16th century.
Synonyms & Antonyms of Magnanimous
Synonyms
Antonyms
Common Collocations with Magnanimous
You've Learned It. Now Make Sure You Never Forget It.
The mnemonic visualisation above helps you learn this word instantly — no rote memorisation needed. But to move it into long-term memory, you still need to review it a few times.
This is where spaced repetition comes in — it shows you words right before you're about to forget them, so you spend less time reviewing and remember more. After just a few spaced reviews, you'll start recalling the meaning naturally — without even needing the keyword or memory link.
Built In Spaced Repetition
You've learned this word using our mnemonic system — but to truly lock it into long-term memory, you need to review it at the right time. That's where spaced repetition comes in.
Our built-in spaced repetition system shows you words just before you're about to forget them, so you review less and remember more. After a few reviews, you'll recall the meaning naturally — without even needing the keyword or memory link.
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Visualisation Help
Visualising the memory link is the most important step — it's what makes you remember the word on the very first try. Don't just read the memory link. Close your eyes and see it play out in your imagination.
The more vivid and detailed your mental image, the stronger the memory. Every word on VocabularyFast comes with a visualisation audio guide. Just look at the image, hit play, and follow the audio as it walks you through the scene.
This takes only a few seconds but makes all the difference between forgetting a word tomorrow and remembering it for life.
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