flourishing
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- flourishingly adverb
- unflourishing adjective
Etymology
Origin of flourishing
A Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; flourish, -ing 2
Explanation
When something is flourishing, it's healthy or successful. Your flourishing lemonade stand is especially busy on hot summer afternoons. A flourishing rose bush has glossy green leaves and bright blossoms, and a city's flourishing music scene means you can see live bands every weekend and hear many different types of music. This adjective is used today for anything that's thriving or prospering, but originally it meant "full of flowers," from the Latin root flos, "a flower."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But there were countless other people, their names lost to history, who built the institutions that strengthened early American communities and promoted human flourishing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
Olise, 24, is flourishing in a fluid Bayern attack.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
Likewise, consider investing your own hard-earned money where people invest in their selves, in becoming who they want to become, in flourishing as human beings.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026
The Eagles are flourishing under coach Cory Skinner.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026
It was trying to explain, describe, and systematize musical practices that were already flourishing because people liked the way they sounded.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
