advantageous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of advantageous
First recorded in 1590–1600; advantage + -ous; compare French avantageux, Italian avantaggioso
Explanation
The adjective advantageous is useful for talking about things that are beneficial, or helpful, like when you find an advantageous spot to hang your yard sale sign — a spot where all the passing cars can see it. Anything that creates an advantage is advantageous. You could describe your decision to throw a huge party as advantageous for your social life, or the cooking class you took as advantageous to the success of your catering business. If it helps you get what you want, or is generally useful, it's advantageous. The root is the Old French word avantage, which means "advantage, profit, or superiority." Anything that assists in your pursuit of these things is advantageous to you.
Vocabulary lists containing advantageous
Evolutionary Biology - Adaptation
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List 7
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 10
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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.
Features such as stingers, specialized nesting behaviors and other biological traits may have created conditions that made cooperation more advantageous and helped sophisticated insect societies emerge again and again.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 15, 2026
Maria Theresa engineered advantageous marriages for her daughters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
It is even more advantageous for Group J as the final one to complete.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
“I don’t mandate it. With Justin, I really just showed him where I thought it would be advantageous, and he didn’t blink for a second and was excited to attack it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Any thinking person is aware of this paradox; but in dealing with conventional people it is advantageous to treat them as though they were not hypocrites.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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.
