Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
benefit (noun)1.
archaic an act of kindness - benefaction
2.
a) something that promotes well-being - advantage
b) useful aid - help
3.
a) financial help in time of sickness, old age, or unemployment
b) a payment or service provided for under an annuity, pension plan, or insurance policy
c) a service (as health insurance) or right (as to take vacation time) provided by an employer in addition to wages or salary
4.
an entertainment or social event to raise funds for a person or cause
transitive verb
intransitive verb
to be useful or profitable to to receive benefit - has benefited from his experience
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
benefit (noun)1.
a thing that helps
SYNONIMS:
advantage, aid, asset, benefit, boonRELATED WORDS:
hand, lift, pick-me-up; support, sustenance; blessing, godsend, windfall; recourse, refuge, resort, resourceNEAR ANTONYMS:
constraint, inhibitor, liability, obstacle, obstruction, restraint, stranglehold2.
something that provides happiness or does good for a person or thing
SYNONIMS:
benediction, benefit, boon, felicity, godsend, good, manna, windfallRELATED WORDS:
grace, mercy; favor, kindness, mitzvah; advantage, aid, assistance, gift, help, relief, support; anodyne, comfort, consolation, solace; bonus, extra, lagniappe; delight, joy, pleasureNEAR ANTONYMS:
hex, hoodoo, jinx; bother, irritant, nuisance, pest; disadvantage; cross, misery, trial, tribulationto provide with something useful or desirable
SYNONIMS:
advantage, avail, help, profit, serveRELATED WORDS:
succeed, work (for); aid, assist; better, improve; content, delight, gladden, gratify, please, satisfy; blessNEAR ANTONYMS:
hinder, impede; damage, harm, hurt, impair, injure; afflict, distress, upset