fruitful

American  

[froot-fuhl] / ˈfrut fəl /

adjective

1. producing good results; beneficial; profitable.

   fruitful investigations.

   Antonyms:

   barren

2. abounding in fruit, as trees or other plants; bearing fruit abundantly.

3. producing an abundant growth, as of fruit.

   fruitful soil; fruitful rain.

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fruitful British  

/ ˈfruːtfʊl /

adjective

1. bearing fruit in abundance

2. productive or prolific, esp in bearing offspring

3. causing or assisting prolific growth

4. producing results or profits

   a fruitful discussion

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Related Words

See productive.

Other Word Forms

• fruitfully adverb
• fruitfulness noun
• overfruitful adjective
• overfruitfully adverb
• overfruitfulness noun

Etymology

Origin of fruitful

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; fruit + -ful

Example Sentences

If the talks are fruitful, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen could visit Australia later this month.

From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026

Despite their recent sad-sack reputation, small caps have long been a fruitful part of the market.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026

Plenty of working families are raising children and having fruitful social lives on median incomes or even less: Living thriftily is not the same as living penuriously or meanly.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025

Santos believes the partnership can be a fruitful one.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025

Only in the 1950’s did their study become an exciting and fruitful field of research; suddenly they began to engage so much attention that 1000 papers on this subject alone appeared within a five-year period.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• advantageous
• beneficial
• conducive
• effective
• profitable
• rewarding
• successful
• useful
• worthwhile