beneficiar

Beneficiar is a verb used in Spanish and Portuguese that means to confer a benefit on someone or to derive a benefit from a situation. It denotes actions that produce a favorable outcome for a person, a group, or an organization, and is common in both everyday and formal discourse.

In Spanish, beneficiar is transitive and typically followed by a direct object: beneficiar a alguien o a un grupo. Examples include: “La ley beneficia a los trabajadores” and “El programa beneficia a las pequeñas empresas.” The verb can also appear reflexively as beneficiarse, or with de- to indicate profiting from a circumstance: “Se beneficia de la nueva regulación” or “Se beneficia a sí mismo de esos incentivos.”

In Portuguese, the verb has a similar use: “A nova lei beneficia os trabalhadores.” It also takes a direct object, as in “beneficiar alguém.” The reflexive form “beneficiar-se” expresses benefiting from something: “Ela beneficiou-se de descontos.” Common derivatives include benefício (noun), benéfico/beneficioso (adjectives), and beneficiário/beneficiária (beneficiary).

Etymology and related terms: beneficiar derives from Latin beneficium, via Romance languages. Related words include benefício, beneficiário, benéfico, and benéfico/beneficioso as adjectives. In both languages, the spelling and core meaning are closely aligned, with conjugation and usage governed by the respective grammar rules.

Usage note: in political or social contexts, beneficiar can imply granting advantage to specific groups, which may carry nuances of favoritism; synonyms like favorecer or proveer can be used to adjust tone.