lucrative

lu·cra·tive

adjective \ˈlü-krə-tiv\

Definition of LUCRATIVE

: producing wealth : profitable

— lu·cra·tive·ly adverb

— lu·cra·tive·ness noun

Examples of LUCRATIVE

1. The business has proved to be highly lucrative.
2. <the hired gun's mission was to turn the failing store into a lucrative operation>
3. Clubs take care of their star and other best players first, paying them lucrative salaries. By the time they get to the bottom half of the roster, they would not have enough money left to pay veterans worthwhile salaries … —Murray Chass, New York Times, 16 Aug. 1994
4. Since the health care industry is lucrative and largely insulated from the usual disciplines of the marketplace, it has been able to absorb an ever-growing fraction of the gross domestic product. —Marcia Angell, New England Journal of Medicine, 17 June 1993
5. The learned profession of the law was certainly not behind any other learned profession in its Bacchanalian propensities; neither was Mr. Stryver, already fast shouldering his way to a large and lucrative practice, behind his compeers in this particular, any more than in the drier parts of the legal race. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859
6. Their success has given Gladwell an active, and extremely lucrative, second career as a public speaker. Much in demand, he is paid in the neighborhood of $40,000 per lecture. —Rachel Donadio, New York Times Book Review, 5 Feb. 2006

Origin of LUCRATIVE

Middle English lucratif, from Middle French, from Latin lucrativus, from lucratus, past participle of lucrari to gain, from lucrum

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to LUCRATIVE

Synonyms

economic, fat, gainful, juicy, profitable, moneymaking, money-spinning [chiefly British], paying, remunerative

Antonyms

unprofitable

Related Words

advantageous, beneficial, favorable, rewarding, useful, worthwhile; bankable

Near Antonyms

disadvantageous, unfavorable