adjective
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bearing fruit in abundance
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productive or prolific, esp in bearing offspring
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causing or assisting prolific growth
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producing results or profits
a fruitful discussion
Synonym Usage
See productive.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fruitful
Explanation
When something is fruitful, it's productive — but you don't have to produce fruit in order to be fruitful. You could have a fruitful trip to the mall if you come home with a slew of snappy new outfits. There's a famous line from the Bible: "Be fruitful and multiply." That gives you a pretty good sense of the word: fruitful activity multiplies or adds to what's already there, producing more of something. A couple is fruitful if they have children: the more children, the more fruitful. An artist is fruitful if they create a lot of artwork. A business is fruitful if it creates profits and expands. Anything fruitful is productive: it grows and produces, much like a fruit tree.
Vocabulary lists containing fruitful
Power Suffix: -ful
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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.
Someone who helps hold and protect different voices in a group through difficult, fruitful, generative conversations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Robinson called on Burrows to nominate a replacement "as quickly as possible", adding: "I don't think it is helpful or fruitful for there to be this hiatus within health."
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
"Although our relations have always been rooted in close friendship and constant loyalty, they have never been as vigorous and fruitful as during your two presidential terms," the king added.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
This has been a fruitful summer for King/Drew of the City Section.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
"But I know also that the enchantress is dead. And the ice and snow have vanished, so that Narnia is now wholesome, fruitful, and delicious."
From "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
