wealthy

adjective \ ˈwel-thē also ˈwelt-thē \

Definition of wealthy

wealthier; wealthiest

1 :having wealth :very affluent

2 :characterized by abundance :ample

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wealthily

play \ˈwel-thə-lē\ adverb

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wealthiness

play \ˈwel-thē-nəs\ noun

See wealthy defined for English-language learners

See wealthy defined for kids

Examples of wealthy in a Sentence

He is a wealthy entrepreneur.
the wealthiest nations in the world

Recent Examples of wealthy from the Web

That's created large differences in per-student funding, with some wealthier districts spending four times more per student than districts with less property tax wealth.

— suzanne baker, Naperville Sun, "After Rauner signs funding bill, Naperville-area schools may see state dollars," 29 Aug. 2017
El Dorado, Arkansas,120 miles south of Little Rock, was once the state's wealthiest town.

— maria carter, Country Living, "This Small Southern Town Is Spending $100 Million to Keep People from Leaving," 11 Aug. 2017
Gulf Shores is a much wealthier community than other cities that make up the Baldwin County system, such as Bay Minette.

— john sharp, AL.com, "Will Gulf Shores form a city school? A long process begins Monday," 30 July 2017
Add poverty to the mix, and a student is 13 times less likely to graduate on time than his or her proficient, wealthier peer.

— staff report, The Aegis, "Education Foundation gives a boost for summer reading," 28 July 2017
The researchers did so, and found to their surprise that those unusual pages were goat, thought to be rare and used only in less wealthy areas, Collins says.

— ann gibbons, Science | AAAS, "Goats, bookworms, a monk’s kiss: Biologists reveal the hidden history of ancient gospels," 25 July 2017
The new bill would add $70 billion more for state stability and innovation funds, leave intact Obamacare tax increases on the wealthy, and put $45 billion toward addressing the opioid epidemic.

— laura litvan, Bloomberg.com, "McConnell Delays Health Debate as McCain Recovers From Surgery," 16 July 2017
Their clients are wealthy — and include rock stars — and their work costs from a minimum of $50,000 to several million.

— by joseph a. mann jr., miamiherald, "Fans of Audio One’s high-end home tech systems include rock stars," 14 July 2017
Lawmakers such as Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said repealing those taxes would give too much relief to the wealthy at the expense of the poor.

— chicagotribune.com, "Revised Senate health care bill still lacks the votes to pass," 13 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'wealthy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of wealthy

15th century

wealthy Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of wealthy

rich, wealthy, affluent, opulent mean having goods, property, and money in abundance. rich implies having more than enough to gratify normal needs or desires.