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:
China’s leaders are in the midst of a campaign to recoup hundreds of billions of dollars worth of unpaid capital-gains and income taxes owed by wealthy Chinese citizens.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Parton plays an angel tasked with changing the mind and heart of a wealthy woman set on selling her humble hometown to a mall developer.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
Mazzei, a wealthy former state senator, publicly embraced the project shortly before Trump endorsed him.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
In Montecito, the couple became a starry addition to the seaside community’s roster of wealthy residents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
The first to stop was not one of the fine carriages that picked up the hotel’s wealthy guests, but a simple horse-drawn wagon, more suited to delivering goods to the kitchen.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Wealthy families have increased sports investing over the past few years, expanding into women’s sports and emerging leagues.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Wealthy investors are embracing 351 exchanges that convert concentrated stockholdings into diversified funds without capital gains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Wealthy countries and developing nations are at loggerheads over how the pandemic agreement, which was adopted last year, will work in practice.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Wealthy buyers are also competing to snap up high-end watches, pushing their prices up.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 13, 2026
Wealthy, old-money, Cuban, Miami, parties with his sister: he loved them.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
Don’t miss: Should wealthier Americans forgo their Social Security benefits as a charitable gesture?
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Officials say the new five-star hotel, to be built across 10 acres, will bring investment, jobs and wealthier tourists to Kaziranga.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Behind the shift is a supercharged U.S. economy that in the course of a generation has created a larger and wealthier class of Americans that views travel as an essential rather than a luxury.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Called a “working class” champion by the United Auto Workers, El-Sayed performed best in wealthier, higher-educated areas of the state.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026
Mutal was older and wealthier than most, but otherwise not strikingly different.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
His pledge to increase taxes has sparked backlash from some of the city's wealthiest residents who claim it will discourage people from buying homes and investing in the US's largest city.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Jeff Bezos has cemented his standing as one of the wealthiest individuals in history—with a personal net worth hovering around $200 billion, and buoyed by Amazon’s relentless valuation growth.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
The salary cap limits what teams can spend on player payroll to ensure parity and prevent the wealthiest teams from outspending smaller-market teams to acquire the best players.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Swift’s team deployed facial recognition tracking on concertgoers but turned it off for some of the wealthiest and most renowned names at her Madison Square Garden rehearsal dinner.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
She was from Brandywine Heights, the wealthiest part of a very wealthy school district.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
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.
