enterprising

adjective

ˈen-tər-ˌprī-ziŋ How to pronounce enterprising (audio)
Definition of enterprisingnext
1
as in aggressive
having or showing a bold forcefulness in the pursuit of a goal the company is claiming that there will be huge financial rewards for enterprising sales representatives

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in adventurous
inclined or willing to take risks enterprising people of vision were responsible for the boom in technological industries

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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 enterprising All Stanford students are ambitious, but many of the most enterprising among them drop out. — Ronan Farrow, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026 Our enterprising Gravedigger, a true woman of science, engineers a lizard elixir and regenerates the finger into a long tentacle that eventually demands a body. — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026 This was little more than a wooden shack beside a convenience store and a karaoke parlor, all of them run by an enterprising resident who had already buried 200 people in the 12 months since Duterte had taken office, nearly all of them drug suspects. — Sheila Coronel, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026 During the night, an enterprising photographer with a telephoto lens sneaked upstairs in a building opposite Children’s and found a window in line with Patrick’s room. — Steven Levingston, Vanity Fair, 23 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for enterprising
Recent Examples of Synonyms for enterprising
  1. aggressive
  2. adventurous
  3. ambitious
  4. daring
  5. fierce
Adjective
  • The fire department said firefighters quickly went into defensive mode because the flames were so aggressive.
    — Chelsea Hylton, CBS News, 30 July 2026
  • Starting the playoffs in the wild-card round reduces the World Series odds that Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has repeatedly cited as a factor in how aggressive a front office should be at the trade deadline.
    — Patrick Mooney, New York Times, 30 July 2026
Definition of aggressive
Adjective
  • My preferred routine is neither so adventurous nor so educational, toggling mostly between lazy days on the beach and long meals at tavernas.
    — Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 27 July 2026
  • Fixing Lacroix as the furthest-back defender would allow Colwill, on his left, and possibly Trevoh Chalobah, who is of interest to Como, or Wesley Fofana on his right, to be more adventurous in joining the build-up.
    — Mark Carey, New York Times, 25 July 2026
Definition of adventurous
Adjective
  • Gianni Infantino has built his presidency on an ability to push through ambitious —and often controversial — changes despite widespread resistance.
    — Clemente Lisi, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • The Sacramento Bee covered a range of news on July 31, from a downtown bar’s ambitious makeover to the governor’s tax disclosure.
    — Ruyuan Li. Summary produced by AI assistance, Sacbee.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of ambitious
Adjective
  • Blumenthal presents himself as a courageous truth teller whose work is too daring for the corporate media.
    — James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026
  • Ackman’s misfires, though, have been offset by some prescient investments in the face of black swan events like the subprime mortgage crisis and COVID, cementing his reputation as one of the shrewdest and most daring risk-takers on Wall Street.
    — Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 20 July 2026
Definition of daring
Adjective
  • Management tried to modernize a restaurant brand built around nostalgia, underestimated how strongly customers identified with its image, and eventually reversed the change after a fierce backlash.
    — Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • The jostling grew particularly fierce between South Carolina and Nevada.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of fierce

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Cite this Entry

“Enterprising.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/enterprising. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on enterprising

Nglish: Translation of enterprising for Spanish Speakers

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