prosperous
adjective
pros·per·ous ˈprä-sp(ə-)rəs 
1
: auspicious, favorable
2
a
: marked by success or economic well-being
b
: enjoying vigorous and healthy growth : flourishing
prosperously adverb
prosperousness noun
Synonyms
- booming
- boomy
- flourishing
- golden
- halcyon
- healthy
- lush
- palmy
- prospering
- roaring
- successful
- thriving
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
The company had a prosperous year. He predicted a prosperous future.
Recent Examples on the Web Before the fortuitous discovery, the coins likely belonged to Joseph and Sarah Fernley-Maisters, a married couple that came from a prosperous mercantile family that made money trading in natural resources like timber, coal and iron ore. 
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Sep. 2022 Walter Abish was born on Dec. 24, 1931, the only child of a prosperous Jewish family in Vienna. New York Times, 31 May 2022 Penny, a businesswoman and philanthropist who still lives on the property at age 83, came from a prosperous ranching family in Amarillo, and was a natural host and entertainer. Sunset Magazine, 21 Mar. 2022 The formerly prosperous community was plunged into a time of famine and starvation. AZCentral.com, 8 Aug. 2022 In Chatham, Ontario, a town near the U.S.-Canada border on Lake Erie, rose a prosperous Canadian Black community. Natalie Preddie, Washington Post, 23 June 2022 Employees who are engaged and excited about their work provide wonderful service to our clients and help build a prosperous community. Alexander Coolidge, The Enquirer, 8 June 2022 The nonfiction book introduces young readers to the prosperous Black community of Greenwood in Oklahoma and its destruction in 1921 at the hands of a White mob. Scottie Andrew, CNN, 24 Jan. 2022 Hart has led West Hartford, a prosperous community of about 63,000, through coronavirus restrictions, a revamping of its pension financing system, expansion of its thriving town center and the selection of Vernon Riddick as police chief. Don Stacom, courant.com, 21 Dec. 2021 See More
Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Sep. 2022 Walter Abish was born on Dec. 24, 1931, the only child of a prosperous Jewish family in Vienna. New York Times, 31 May 2022 Penny, a businesswoman and philanthropist who still lives on the property at age 83, came from a prosperous ranching family in Amarillo, and was a natural host and entertainer. Sunset Magazine, 21 Mar. 2022 The formerly prosperous community was plunged into a time of famine and starvation. AZCentral.com, 8 Aug. 2022 In Chatham, Ontario, a town near the U.S.-Canada border on Lake Erie, rose a prosperous Canadian Black community. Natalie Preddie, Washington Post, 23 June 2022 Employees who are engaged and excited about their work provide wonderful service to our clients and help build a prosperous community. Alexander Coolidge, The Enquirer, 8 June 2022 The nonfiction book introduces young readers to the prosperous Black community of Greenwood in Oklahoma and its destruction in 1921 at the hands of a White mob. Scottie Andrew, CNN, 24 Jan. 2022 Hart has led West Hartford, a prosperous community of about 63,000, through coronavirus restrictions, a revamping of its pension financing system, expansion of its thriving town center and the selection of Vernon Riddick as police chief. Don Stacom, courant.com, 21 Dec. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Latin prosperus "agreeable to one's wishes, successful, (of omens) propitious" (going back to *pro-sparo-, from pro- pro- entry 2 + *sparo-, going back to Indo-European *sph1-ró- "thriving") + -ous -ous — more at speed entry 1
Note: An apparently traditional explanation is recorded by the fourth/fifth century grammarian Nonius Marcellus, namely, that prosperus was in origin from the phrase prō spērē "in conformity with one's hope" (spērē being taken as a variant of spē, ablative of spēs "hope"), though this may best be regarded as a folk etymology. It fails to account for the short e in prosperus.
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
prosperous
adjective
pros·per·ous ˈprä-spə-rəs
1
: having or showing success or financial good fortune
2
: strong and healthy in growth
a prosperous town
prosperous
adjective
1
as in thriving
marked by vigorous growth and well-being especially economically a prosperous business that will soon be expanding Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- thriving
- prospering
- successful
- wealthy
- booming
- golden
- healthy
- flourishing
- affluent
- roaring
- palmy
- halcyon
- rich
- boomy
- moneyed
- lush
- opulent
- well-off
- well-to-do
- substantial
- comfortable
- monied
- well-heeled
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unsuccessful
- depressed
- unprosperous
- failing
- dying
- bankrupt
- struggling
- insolvent
- declining
- languishing
- floundering
- bankrupted
2
as in successful
having attained a desired end or state of good fortune one of the most prosperous families in the community Synonyms & Similar Words
- successful
- thriving
- flourishing
- triumphant
- palmy
- promising
- in clover
- going
- growing
- in the clover
- booming
- coming
- robust
- roaring
- gangbuster
- runaway
- gangbusters
- boffo
- socko
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unsuccessful
- inauspicious
- hopeless
- unpromising
- failed
- failing
- futureless
- bankrupt
- collapsing
- folding
- destroyed
- declining
- waning
- slipping
- ruined
- flopping
- no-good
- slumping
- wrecked
- washing-out
- flunking
- kaput
- kaputt
- kerflooey
3
as in lush
growing thickly and vigorously our neighbor has a real green thumb and a yard full of healthy, prosperous plants Synonyms & Similar Words
- lush
- rampant
- dense
- weedy
- luxuriant
- lavish
- thick
- rank
- verdant
- overgrown
- profuse
- overrun
- tangled
- close
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- sparse
- dormant
- blighted
- stunted