industrious

adjective

in·​dus·​tri·​ous in-ˈdə-strē-əs 

1

: constantly, regularly, or habitually active or occupied : diligent

an industrious worker

2

obsolete : skillful, ingenious

industriously adverb

industriousness noun

Synonyms

• diligent
• engaged
• busy
• employed

Choose the Right Synonym for industrious

busy, industrious, diligent, assiduous, sedulous mean actively engaged or occupied.

busy chiefly stresses activity as opposed to idleness or leisure.

too busy to spend time with the children

industrious implies characteristic or habitual devotion to work.

industrious employees

diligent suggests earnest application to some specific object or pursuit.

very diligent in her pursuit of a degree

assiduous stresses careful and unremitting application.

assiduous practice

sedulous implies painstaking and persevering application.

a sedulous investigation of the murder

Examples of industrious in a Sentence

He is an industrious worker.

an industrious worker who never seems to sleep

Recent Examples on the Web

Winger Bertrand Traore did his fair share of defensive work, shutting down space in the right channel, and Trai Hume was industrious in pushing up to aid attacks and recovering to avoid being exploited on the counter. —Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025

Driving through lush, evergreen rainforest, far past the industrious city of Seattle, a rolling mist creeps in. —Christina Fang, Travel + Leisure, 22 Oct. 2025

Leckie says ants are industrious and dynamic builders. —NPR, 21 Oct. 2025

The star of Girl Meets World at 14, Carpenter received the kind of grueling comedic acting training reserved for Disney’s suite of industrious child actors. —Charu Sinha, Vulture, 19 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for industrious

• illustrious

Kids Definition

industrious

adjective

in·​dus·​tri·​ous in-ˈdəs-trē-əs 

: constantly or regularly active or occupied

an industrious farmer

industriously adverb

industriousness noun