Meanings
nouncui prodest (uncountable)
- uncountableThe rhetorical question "Who benefits?", as used to establish motive for a crime etc.
On the basis of cui prodest, the British and French might have helped kill Rasputin (to prevent him from persuading the Tsar to make peace with the Germans), but the presence of agents from both countries seems unlikely.
2016 November, Donald Rayfield, “The Monk behind the Myth”, in Literary ReviewSynonyms: cui bono
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe rhetorical question "Who benefits?", as used to establish motive for a crime etc.
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Also see
Origin
From Latin.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
cui prodest. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cui%20prodest
MLA
“cui prodest.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cui%20prodest. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cui prodest,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cui%20prodest.
Source: cui prodest on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.