Prosperity Meaning: What It Is to Thrive

Prosperity meaning, defined in plain English

To define prosperity in one line, here is a short definition of prosperity. It is a time or state of flourishing. People who live in prosperity can pay their bills, plan ahead and still have something left over.

1. Money sense. Wealth and economic success, as in a region that enjoys rising wages and busy shops.
2. Wider sense. General wellbeing, including good health, peace and happy relationships. Greeting cards and festival wishes often use it this way.

Notice that prosperity describes a condition, not a single event. Winning a prize is luck; a long stretch of good income and stability is prosperity.

Prosperity in everyday sentences

• After the new port opened, the fishing village entered a decade of quiet prosperity.
• My grandmother always wished us health and prosperity at the start of each new year.
• The report links the region's prosperity to good schools and cheap electricity.
• Their prosperity did not last; the factory closed and many families moved away.
• A small bakery can bring prosperity to an entire street by drawing in customers.

Word family: prosper, prosperous, prosperously

The noun has a lively family. The verb prosper means to do well or grow strong: The business prospered once it moved online. The adjective prosperous describes the person or place that is doing well: a prosperous farmer, a prosperous suburb. The adverb prosperously exists but is rare in daily speech.

Common pairings include economic prosperity, shared prosperity, a period of prosperity, bring prosperity and peace and prosperity. You rarely see it in the plural, because it is an uncountable noun.

A Latin word for good fortune

Prosperity reached English through Old French prosperite, which came from Latin prosperitas. The Latin root prosperus meant favorable, fortunate or going according to hope. So from the start, the word carried a sense of things turning out well rather than simply having money.

Opposite of prosperity and nearby words

A rich person can be wealthy without a whole town sharing in prosperity. That group feeling is why speeches and reports favor this word. For dealing with tough times, see adversity.

Where you meet prosperity

In economics and news, prosperity often refers to growth in jobs, wages and spending. Writers contrast it with a recession, when the economy shrinks, and they watch inflation (more money words sit in our business and finance section) because rising prices can eat into a family's sense of doing well.

In religious and festive settings, the word becomes a blessing. In India and the US alike, people wish each other prosperity during new year and harvest celebrations, meaning a full table and a peaceful home as much as a full bank account.

Small mistakes to avoid

Do not write prosperities for general use; the plural is almost never needed. Watch the spelling: it is pros-per-i-ty, with no extra o, so not prospority. Also keep the forms straight. You wish someone prosperity (noun), hope they prosper (verb) and call them prosperous (adjective). Saying a prosperity family is a slip; the right phrase is a prosperous family.