thriving

American  

[thrahy-ving] / ˈθraɪ vɪŋ /

adjective

1. prospering or doing well; highly successful.

   The Arts Commission plans to expand its thriving ArtSmart program into all 21 of the city’s elementary schools.

2. growing or developing vigorously; flourishing.

   When I worked on her farm ten years ago there was still a thriving goat herd, but she’s been unable to keep it up on her own.

---

Other Word Forms

• thrivingly adverb
• unthriving adjective

Etymology

Origin of thriving

thriv(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Explanation

Something that's thriving is doing very well. You have a thriving cupcake business if you can hardly bake enough to keep up with your customers' orders. Use the adjective thriving to describe something that's healthy — like your new puppy — or profitable and busy — like your dad's car dealership. A thriving Mexican food truck always has a long line in front of it, and a thriving publisher puts out many popular books. Thriving comes from the verb thrive, and its Old Norse root word, þrifask, which means both "thrive" and "grasp to oneself," from þrifa, "to clutch or grasp."

Example Sentences

Once among the poorest and most isolated countries in Asia, Vietnam has transformed itself into a thriving export economy, supplying consumer electronics, machinery and clothing to Western nations.

From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026

But Authentic Brands Group, the New York-based company that purchased Sports Illustrated in 2019 for $110 million, says the title is now thriving after reducing its reliance on advertising and circulation revenue.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

As a young postdoctoral scientist, he joined pioneering expeditions and descended more than a mile below the ocean surface in the submersible Alvin, where he observed thriving ecosystems in total darkness.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

The Los Angeles Times reports on thriving former residents of the Golden State.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

“You must come here each day. You must learn all the plants. Look—” The woman gestured at the garden plot, thick with thriving plants, many in summer-start bloom.

From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry

Related Words

• booming
• burgeoning
• developing
• flourishing
• growing
• healthy
• prosperous
• robust
• wealthy