wealthy
adjective
having great wealth; rich; affluent.
wealthy
1 American
[wel-thee]
/ ˈwɛl θi /
adjective
-
wealthier,
comparative
-
wealthiest
superlative
-
having great wealth; rich; affluent.
a wealthy person; a wealthy nation.
- Synonyms:
- moneyed, well-to-do, prosperous
- Antonyms:
- poor
-
characterized by, pertaining to, or suggestive of wealth.
a wealthy appearance.
-
rich in character, quality, or amount; abundant or ample.
a novel that is wealthy in its psychological insights.
- Synonyms:
- copious
- Antonyms:
- scanty
Wealthy
2
American
[wel-thee]
/ ˈwɛl θi /
noun
wealthy
British
/ ˈwɛlθɪ /
adjective
-
possessing wealth; affluent; rich
-
of, characterized by, or relating to wealth
-
abounding
wealthy in friends
Synonym Usage
See rich.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
wealthinessnoun
-
overwealthyadjective
-
quasi-wealthyadjective
-
subwealthyadjective
-
superwealthyadjective
-
unwealthyadjective
-
wealthilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of wealthy1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English; wealth + -y 1
Origin of Wealthy2
Origin uncertain
Explanation
If you have riches you are wealthy. Don't be misled into thinking "riches" means only money — to many people, to have a healthy family and to be surrounded by love is to be abundantly wealthy. The Old English word wela, via the Middle English welth, meaning "happiness and prosperity in abundance," is the source of our noun wealth. Although the Middle English wele meant "well-being," the word referred primarily to money and possessions. Many people still feel that way, but Henry David Thoreau offered a different view: "Wealth is the ability to fully experience life." That is, true wealth is having whatever means the most to you.
Vocabulary lists containing wealthy
Beowulf vocabulary
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A Wealth Of Words: Synonyms for "Rich"
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"Culture Clash"
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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.
See Examples For:
‘People in the U.S. need to wake up’: As a mortgage loan officer, I rejected applications from wealthy couples.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
Garry Bell, a tax advisor to high value residents, said if tax for wealthy individuals was increased he believed Jersey would lose them.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
His admirers saw a fabulously wealthy man sharing his good fortune.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The common link seems to be Daisy Wolcott, a wealthy eccentric who devoted her life and fortune to the discovery and preservation of obscure vegetation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Jinjoo could see that it was a wealthy area of the city.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
Wealthy tourists would have felt like visitors from another solar system.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Wealthy Americans are harvesting losses, considering accelerated charitable deductions and analyzing whether their Opportunity Zone investments have declined in value, advisers say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Wealthy investors who piled into private-credit funds have spent months trying to cash out their shares and still can’t.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Wealthy buyers are also competing to snap up high-end watches, pushing their prices up.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 13, 2026
Wealthy Germans in luxurious clothing stood in one line, military personnel in another.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
"They sell these individuals to military units and regional commands facing manpower shortages, or traffic substitute recruits on behalf of wealthier individuals seeking to buy their way out of service."
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Bastian says, “The top 40% of U.S. households, which make up the majority of Delta’s customer base, are nearly $40 trillion wealthier than they were just a few years ago.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Royal Caribbean plans to take a 50% stake in Sandals, a move that gives the cruise line access to wealthier customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Is it possible to stay close with friends who are substantially wealthier without eventually feeling like the poor relations?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
It isn’t just the case that the closer someone is to a Connector, the more powerful or the wealthier or the more opportunities he or she gets.
From "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell
At the lavish home of one of Miami's top plastic surgeons, overlooking the Biscayne Bay, some of the wealthiest Cuban-American families in Florida have gathered.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The top 0.1% wealthiest Americans have seen their total wealth more than double since the end of 2019, according to new data from the Federal Reserve.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
These folks comprise the wealthiest generation in history: According to the Federal Reserve, baby boomers control $90 trillion in assets.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
Their owners include schoolteachers and secretaries alongside some of Los Angeles’ wealthiest families.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Billy, who at $10 an hour is the wealthiest of us, lives in the trailer he owns, paying only the $400-a-month lot fee.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
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.
