GAINFUL Synonyms: 19 Similar and Opposite Words

gainful

adjective

ˈgān-fəl

Definition of gainful

as in lucrative

yielding a profit graduated from school and went looking for gainful employment

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of gainful Where do alien nerds find gainful employ? — Literary Hub, 19 Nov. 2025 At her age, being prickly was neither enchanting nor gainful. — Yiyun Li, New Yorker, 15 June 2025 Schools that do not meet gainful employment expectations risk losing access to federal funding. — Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 2 June 2025 Or workers could simply have given up on Martinsville and moved elsewhere in search of gainful employment. — Gordon H. Hanson, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2021 See All Example Sentences for gainful

Recent Examples of Synonyms for gainful

Adjective

Along with lucrative offers for the universities, the shoe company creates critical Name, Image and Likeness opportunities for individual athletes via its ambassador program.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Still, with more than 40,000 industry jobs lost in the past few years, soundstages and vendor storefronts sitting empty, and lucrative overseas incentives seducing even more production away, things are bleak in town right now.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of lucrative

Adjective

The $55 billion deal — part-funded with $20 billion borrowed against EA itself — buys Riyadh a profitable business and control of some of the biggest franchises in the world’s biggest entertainment industry.

— Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 5 Aug. 2026
Companies are watching their cash piles dwindle, betting that all these upfront investments on data centers and costly AI systems from the likes of Nvidia will be profitable in the long run.

— Ari Levy,Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of profitable

Adjective

Returning to it in high school has been a worthwhile experience for her — not just because of all the winning.

— Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2026
Sunderland’s big and worthwhile post-promotion outlay last season has reduced their scope in this one.

— Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of worthwhile

Browse Nearby Words

gainers

gainful

gain ground

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Style

“Gainful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gainful. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of gainful

adjective

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