Synonyms

gainful

American

[geyn-fuhl] / ˈgeɪn fəl /

adjective

profitable; lucrative.

gainful employment.

gainful British

/ ˈɡeɪnfʊl /

adjective

profitable; lucrative

gainful employment

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

gainfully adverb
gainfulness noun
ungainful adjective
ungainfully adverb

Etymology

Origin of gainful

First recorded in 1545–55; gain ¹ + -ful

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.

The few companies which offer deportees gainful employment have become even more important to avoid a slide into criminality.

From BBC

So, accustomed to a regular paycheck from gainful employment for the previous 28 years, I was now a start-up, spelling a whole new ballgame.

From Salon

The bad news was that I had absolutely no idea how to find gainful employment.

From Salon

The Education Department’s gainful employment rule targets college programs that leave graduates with high debt compared to their expected earnings.

From Seattle Times

"I ended up in another toxic, damaging relationship, lost hope of gainful employment and life got exponentially worse," she says.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023