- present participle of reward.
rewarding
Americanadjective
-
affording satisfaction, valuable experience, or the like; worthwhile.
-
affording financial or material gain; profitable.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rewarding
Explanation
Things that satisfy you or make you happy are rewarding. Even if you love to learn, the most rewarding part of going to school for many of us is making good friends. The word reward is obvious when you look at the adjective rewarding, and rewarding things do give you a kind of reward. Rather than cash for finding a neighbor's lost cat, though, the reward you get from something rewarding is pleasure or satisfaction. Watching a great movie is rewarding, and so is doing something kind for another person. You might even get lucky and have a rewarding career, or even a rewarding life.
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.
A thematic cousin, “Black Coral” by Mr. Stills, centers on how scuba diving becomes more spiritually rewarding the deeper you go.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Instead, the market begins rewarding stable profit margins, free cash flow, operating efficiency and raised earnings forecasts, Wilson explained.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
After a wild and rewarding ride, these ships are back to a familiar place.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Others, however, will insist the rewriting of history is the only way of restoring the competition's official record, and rewarding clubs that competed within the rules.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
In 2005, New York became one of a small group of states to tie college financing more closely to graduation rates, rewarding colleges more for moving students along than for simply admitting them.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
