[Vocabulary] a giving personality

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englishhobby

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Could you name a one-word synonym for the word giving? Is it generous? He is a (generous? ........... ) person.
 

Raymott

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To me, 'bounteous' doesn't work for people. What's wrong with just "He is a giving person"? 'Generous' is also OK.
 

Matthew Wai

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Do you mean 'a bounteous person' doesn't make sense?
 

englishhobby

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To me, 'bounteous' doesn't work for people. What's wrong with just "He is a giving person"? 'Generous' is also OK.
There is nothing wrong with it. I am just making an exercise for my students and I need a synonym.
 

Raymott

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It can make sense in the right context. But it sounds literary. It's not colloquial.
"... the warm, the comfortable house; and, lastly, a fair portion of that bounteous mother, whose flowing breasts yield redundant sustenance for all her numerous offspring ..." (The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Fielding, Henry)
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bounteous
'Bounteous' tends to mean unconsciously giving, as in the above example from the 1700s.
But some use it, as I see from Google; the first page seems to be mainly by non-native writers. But here's an example from Twitter.
.;/@justinbieber - your a very bounteous person but to me u you've been acting mysterious lately do u agree?be the most EPIC person....ans
 

Raymott

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"Lavish" isn't normally used for persons either.
If a couple puts on a lavish, bounteous dinner for friends, you could describe them as bounteous and lavish. But you'd normally use the terms for the dinner, not the people.
The dictionary you quote has this:
"He was always lavish in his praise of my efforts." Even though this says "He was always lavish" from which one could infer that "He is a lavish person", this is an illusion, a misreading. It is his praise which is lavish. He acted lavishly in his praise. In other aspects of life, he may be niggardly.
 
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