Benign means not harmful or not dangerous, and in medicine it usually means “not cancerous.”

Quick meaning

  • In everyday English, benign means:
    • Gentle or kind in character.
* Harmless or having no serious negative effect.
  • In medicine, benign means:
    • A tumor or condition that is not cancer and does not spread to other parts of the body.

Example: A “benign tumor” is a growth that is not cancer and usually doesn’t spread, although it can still cause problems if it gets large or presses on important areas.

Different ways “benign” is used

  • Personality: a benign teacher or a benign king = kind, gentle, not harsh.
  • Environment or weather: benign climate = mild, pleasant.
  • Effects or substances: environmentally benign chemical = not harmful to health or nature.

The opposite of benign is malignant , which in medical talk means cancerous and able to spread, and in general use means harmful or evil- intentioned.

TL;DR: “Benign” = kind or mild in general, and “not cancer / not harmful” in medical talk.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.