flourishing

American  

[flur-i-shing, fluhr-] / ˈflɜr ɪ ʃɪŋ, ˈflʌr- /

adjective

1. growing vigorously; thriving; prosperous.

   a flourishing little business.

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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

Olise, 24, is flourishing in a fluid Bayern attack.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

There’s one antiprinciple to this: Do not invest in companies that intentionally try to addict their customers to spend more time, attention and money on them, to the detriment of those customers’ flourishing.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

Why did such a difficult time for the American people coincide with such a flourishing of creativity?

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026

But the fact that employees still showed up, including without pay during last year’s federal government shutdown, demonstrates their commitment to keeping the beloved parks flourishing.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2026

What prevented them from taking root and flourishing?

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Related Words

• blooming
• burgeoning
• expanding
• growing
• prosperous
• thriving