industrious
Americanadjective
-
working energetically and devotedly; hardworking; diligent.
an industrious person.
- Synonyms:
- energetic, tireless, sedulous, persevering, assiduous
-
Obsolete. skillful.
adjective
-
hard-working, diligent, or assiduous
-
an obsolete word for skilful
Related Words
See busy.
Other Word Forms
- industriously adverb
- industriousness noun
- nonindustrious adjective
- nonindustriously adverb
- superindustrious adjective
- superindustriously adverb
- unindustrious adjective
- unindustriously adverb
Etymology
Origin of industrious
First recorded in 1525–35; from Middle French industrie “cleverness, skill,” from Old French industrie “contrivance, device,” from Latin industrius “diligent, assiduous”; equivalent to indo-, by-form of in- “in” ( in- 2 ( def. ) + -struus, noun derivative of struere “to arrange, devise, build”
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.
He was as industrious as the others, committed defenders and creating shooting opportunities for himself, even if his end product was lacking.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
The industrious attacking midfielder has become an integral part of Barcelona's squad since making his debut in the 2023/24 season, making 113 appearances and scoring 29 goals.
From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026
But you don’t have to be quite that industrious to pull this off.
From Salon • Dec. 23, 2025
It’s also true that Minnesota’s roughly 80,000-strong Somali community contains many industrious people and good citizens.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 3, 2025
In the process of becoming such an industrious cobbler, the sheepherder neglected his animals, his fields, his house—everything had fallen into disrepair.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
