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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Benevolent \Be*nev"o*lent\, adjective [L. benevolens, -entis; bene well (adv. of bonus good) + volens, p. pr. of volo I will, I wish. See {Bounty}, and {Voluntary}.] Having a disposition to do good; possessing or manifesting love to mankind, and a desire to promote their prosperity and happiness; disposed to give to good objects; kind; charitable. -- {Be*nev"o*lent*ly}, adverb
Syn: {Benevolent}, {Beneficent}.
Usage: Etymologically considered, benevolent implies wishing well to others, and beneficent, doing well. But by degrees the word benevolent has been widened to include not only feelings, but actions; thus, we speak of benevolent operations, benevolent labors for the public good, benevolent societies. In like manner, beneficent is now often applied to feelings; thus, we speak of the beneficent intentions of a donor. This extension of the terms enables us to mark nicer shades of meaning. Thus, the phrase ''benevolent labors'' turns attention to the source of these labors, viz., benevolent feeling; while beneficent would simply mark them as productive of good. So, ''beneficent intentions'' point to the feelings of the donor as bent upon some specific good act; while ''benevolent intentions'' would only denote a general wish and design to do good.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
benevolently
adverb: in a benevolent manner; "she looked on benevolently" [ant: {malevolently}]
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