thrives

verb

present tense third-person singular of thrive
1
as in flourishes
to grow vigorously these plants thrive with relatively little sunlight

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in succeeds
to reach a desired level of accomplishment going to a school for gifted students will help him thrive as a musical prodigy

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 thrives Building such a culture requires long-term investment in people, creating a resilient team that thrives amidst challenges. — Steve Muscato, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 As a native to tropical climates, this tender perennial thrives in hot weather and won’t tolerate cold conditions. — Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 23 July 2026 Valley fever is caused by the fungus Coccidioides, which thrives in dry soil. — Susanne Rust follow, Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026 The family thrives in isolation, against the elements, and often despite community. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 23 July 2026 French thrives in Quebec, supported by some extremely assertive language legislation, but the threats of secession in the province are a persistent nuisance. — Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 20 July 2026 Crabgrass thrives in the hot, dry conditions that a cool-season grass dislikes. — David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 16 July 2026 When other plants wilt in the sun, rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus) thrives in it. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 16 July 2026 Necrotizing fasciitis can be contracted when bacteria that thrives in warm, brackish waters enters the body through open cuts, scrapes, burns or other puncture wounds, or by eating raw or undercooked shellfish. — Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 15 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thrives
  1. flourishes
  2. succeeds
  3. prospers
  4. arrives
  5. excels
Verb
  • Given the number of people involved in the current outbreak already, Mandrell suspects there may be multiple sources of contamination, since this is the time that the parasite generally flourishes.
    — Alice Park, Time, 17 July 2026
  • The Netflix documentary explores Short’s very long career, which started in the early 1970s and flourishes today with Only Murders in the Building.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 8 July 2026
Definition of flourishes
Verb
  • Stuart may fail to save the universe, but the Big Bang Theory spinoff succeeds in bringing back (and reinventing) several of the hit sitcom’s fan-favorite characters.
    — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 24 July 2026
  • Many view these principles as something to address once the business succeeds, but that’s often the most expensive moment to make changes.
    — Clyde Eiríkur Hull, The Conversation, 23 July 2026
Definition of succeeds
Verb
  • That is why Florida Republicans are taking the lead to make sure the state prospers as AI advances, instead of letting Silicon Valley write the rules.
    — Brendan Steinhauser, Sun Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2026
  • Conditions Boxwood prospers when it is grown in full sun to part shade.
    — Lauren Dunec Hoang, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Mar. 2026
Definition of prospers
Verb
  • Sadly, the release arrives as Hugo remains locked in a legal battle with former partner Williams.
    — SPIN Staff, SPIN, 23 July 2026
  • And increasingly, the experience is not over when the concert ends or the dinner check arrives.
    — Jeff Fromm, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of arrives
Verb
  • Anthropic captivated Wall Street investors and government technologists by launching a model called Mythos in April, which excels at identifying vulnerabilities within software.
    — Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 23 July 2026
  • In several instances, the report highlights the Human Genome Project as an example of the sort of project that government excels at driving.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 23 July 2026
Definition of excels

Browse Nearby Words

thrived
thrives
thriving
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thrives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thrives. Accessed 28 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on thrives

Nglish: Translation of thrives for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of kludge

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All