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 While other factors contribute to vibrio, warm water is where the bacteria thrives. — Michelle Richardson, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026 The bacteria thrives in warm coastal waters and can be contracted through open wounds or by eating raw shellfish. — Charlotte Observer, 11 Aug. 2026 Coyote brush, a drought-tolerant, evergreen plant that thrives in the preserve’s grasslands and oak-woodland foothills, is a common native shrub found throughout this preserve. — Kalpana Mohan, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026 Brown patch is a fungal disease that thrives in warm, humid conditions when grass stays wet for long periods. — Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 9 Aug. 2026 The herd at Smiling Buddha Yaks thrives in Colorado’s alpine climate. — David Kelly, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2026 But Milwaukee Avenue, the Northern border of the plaza, mostly is boarded up or covered with harsh metallic grates, even as that street thrives to the west, having been reinvented as the Hipster Highway, the epicenter of bike-lane Chicago. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026 Both post test scores far below the state average, and the funding formula leaves Hartford’s own school district starved while CREC thrives with surpluses. — State Rep Maryam Khan, Hartford Courant, 5 Aug. 2026 The ability to understand the impact of each, navigate the challenges and passionately pursue the opportunities may ultimately determine who thrives in this space. — Nishtha Sareen, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thrives
  1. flourishes
  2. succeeds
  3. prospers
  4. arrives
  5. excels
Verb
  • The cancer arose in one clam, crossed into the other, and now flourishes in its new host, while the pullet carpet shell in those same waters shows no trace of the disease.
    — John Drake, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of flourishes
Verb
  • The film succeeds not only as an examination of the extraordinary quandary facing the couple but also simply as a compelling wartime drama featuring excellent performances from the two leads, who are, like most of the cast, non-professional actors.
    — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The new flagship succeeds the X5 with native 8K50fps 360-degree video, up from 8K30fps, while retaining its familiar pocket-sized form.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 Aug. 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
  • That seems rather unfair on those who operated well under their PSR limit, and a concession offered by the EFL arrives in the form of a transitional ‘allowable headroom injection’.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Much will depend on temperatures and the elevation of the snow level when each storm arrives.
    — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of arrives
Verb
  • According to our scoring methodology, Sallie Mae excels has some of the lowest starting interest rates, while SoFi excels at customer service.
    — Faith Wakefield, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The car excels in ride comfort and agility, with a particularly effective Intelligent Recuperation system for city driving.
    — Mark Ewing, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 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 18 Aug. 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 oxymoron

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
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
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All