prosperous

adjective

pros·​per·​ous ˈprä-sp(ə-)rəs 

1

: auspicious, favorable

2

a

: marked by success or economic well-being

b

: enjoying vigorous and healthy growth : flourishing

prosperously adverb

prosperousness noun

Synonyms of prosperous

• thriving
• prospering
• successful
• wealthy
• golden
• booming

Examples of prosperous in a Sentence

The company had a prosperous year.

He predicted a prosperous future.

Recent Examples on the Web

This would make Maryland a leader in the effort to move past partisanship and toward a more prosperous and agreeable future. —Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 3 May 2026

Two hundred years ago, Charles Mallory, the current Charles Mallory’s great-great grandfather, was one of Connecticut’s most prosperous shipowners and was in Mystic. —Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 2 May 2026

The family documents describe comfortable lives and prosperous businesses blown apart by the war and the mounting Nazi menace. —Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 28 Apr. 2026

And a lot of these supposedly progressive policies would aid the prosperous, as well as the middle class and working class. —Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin prosperus "agreeable to one's wishes, successful, (of omens) propitious" (going back to *pro-sparo-, from pro- pro- entry 2 + *sparo-, going back to Indo-European *sph₁-ró- "thriving") + -ous -ous — more at speed entry 1

Note: An apparently traditional explanation is recorded by the fourth/fifth century grammarian Nonius Marcellus, namely, that prosperus was in origin from the phrase prō spērē "in conformity with one's hope" (spērē being taken as a variant of spē, ablative of spēs "hope"), though this may best be regarded as a folk etymology. It fails to account for the short e in prosperus.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

prosperous

adjective

pros·​per·​ous ˈpräs-p(ə-)rəs 

1

: having or showing success or financial good fortune

2

: strong and healthy in growth

prosperously adverb