- 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.
"Most people are not inherently aggressive, but certain online conditions make aggressive behaviour easier, less accountable, and more rewarding," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Moving the rock through finer and finer grits is time-consuming, strenuous and not always rewarding.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
“I got the sense that there was a culture that wasn’t rewarding performance. It was rewarding just showing up,” said Seigerman, the BMO Capital analyst.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
The key is leaders in each school district setting high standards and expectations, and then holding teachers accountable to those, while rewarding the best teachers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Well, then, now is the exact time for her to get in the water. Otherwise she’ll never do it. You’re just rewarding her fear. What are you thinking?”
From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder
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.
