Synonyms of flourishing

flourishing 1 of 3

adjective

ˈflər-i-shiŋ 

1

as in successful

having attained a desired end or state of good fortune

a flourishing actor in the early years of the talkies

Synonyms & Similar Words

• successful
• prosperous
• thriving
• triumphant
• in clover
• growing
• going
• palmy
• promising
• booming
• coming
• runaway
• roaring
• robust
• gangbusters
• socko
• boffo

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unsuccessful
• failing
• collapsing
• hopeless
• failed
• folding
• unpromising
• inauspicious
• washing-out
• no-good
• declining
• slipping
• bankrupt
• flopping
• destroyed
• waning
• futureless
• ruined
• wrecked
• slumping
• flunking
• kaput
• kerflooey

2

as in thriving

marked by much life, movement, or activity

a flourishing market in sports memorabilia

Synonyms & Similar Words

• thriving
• buzzing
• busy
• vibrant
• humming
• lively
• crowded
• populous
• brisk
• bustling
• alive
• animated
• kinetic
• happening
• rousing
• abuzz
• stirring
• astir
• abubble
• hopping
• aboil
• teeming
• overflowing
• swarming
• abounding
• thronging

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dead
• inactive
• lifeless
• sleepy
• asleep

3

as in prosperous

marked by vigorous growth and well-being especially economically

a flourishing community that has become a major beneficiary of the high-tech boom

Synonyms & Similar Words

• thriving
• prosperous
• prospering
• booming
• golden
• successful
• healthy
• wealthy
• roaring
• palmy
• halcyon
• affluent
• lush
• rich
• moneyed
• boomy
• substantial
• opulent
• well-to-do
• comfortable
• well-off
• well-heeled

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unsuccessful
• depressed
• dying
• failing
• declining
• languishing
• struggling
• unprosperous
• bankrupt
• insolvent
• floundering
• bankrupted

flourishing

2 of 3

noun

as in flowering

Related Words

• flowering
• blossoming
• maturing
• maturation
• growth
• development
• ripening
• softening
• evolution
• expansion
• evolvement
• mellowing
• progression
• maturity
• coming-of-age

Dissimilar Words

• declining
• decline
• deterioration
• decay
• degeneration
• decaying
• decadence
• descent
• declension
• wilting
• fading
• waning
• withering
• death
• demise
• dying
• end
• exit
• expiration
• decease
• shriveling
• perishing
• ebbing
• regression
• expiry
• reversion
• retrogression
• expiring

flourishing

3 of 3

verb

present participle of flourish

1

as in prospering

to grow vigorously

that plant flourishes in cool, wet weather

Synonyms & Similar Words

• thriving
• prospering
• blooming
• burgeoning
• flowering
• sprouting
• proliferating
• producing
• shooting up
• rooting
• propagating
• luxuriating
• germinating
• overgrowing
• seeding
• regenerating
• fruiting

2

as in succeeding

to reach a desired level of accomplishment

the arts program flourished once it received adequate funding

Synonyms & Similar Words

• thriving
• succeeding
• prospering
• arriving
• excelling
• making it
• winning
• getting ahead
• cutting it
• getting there
• getting somewhere
• hacking it
• making the grade
• making good
• prevailing
• hitting it big
• cutting the mustard
• making one's mark
• coming into one's own
• triumphing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• failing
• struggling
• floundering

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of flourishing

Adjective

As founding director of the cyborg psychology research group and co-director of MIT Media Lab’s Advancing Humans with AI research program, Pataranutaporn is interested in ways that people can use AI to promote human flourishing, pro-social interaction, and human-to-human interaction. — Angela Haupt, Time, 26 Jan. 2026

It has been correlated with swells of human progress and flourishing, science and technology, medicine and political freedom. — Abby McCloskey, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2025

Noun

Pius feared that this new economic system undermined human flourishing and the common good, and drew on the Catholic Church’s intellectual tradition for solutions. — Walter Scheirer, The Conversation, 31 July 2026

Then, what’s needed is signs that there is a young core flourishing. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 13 July 2026

Verb

And that a just society is one … in which people’s equal potential for flourishing and happiness is able to find expression. — John Blake, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026

There are a number of sedges, some of which are called nut sedges, flourishing during the wet summer weather in Florida lawns. — Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Aug. 2026