Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Producing fruit, especially in abundance.
  • adjective Producing offspring, especially in abundance.
  • adjective Capable of producing vegetation.
  • adjective Producing useful or desired results; productive: synonym: fertile.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Productive of, abounding in, or favorable to the growth of fruit, or useful vegetation in general: as, a, fruitful country or soil; a fruitful season; fruitful showers.
  • Bearing offspring; prolific; not barren.
  • Productive of results; yielding, bringing, or favoring production or acquisition in any respect: as, a fruitful enterprise or journey; fruitful investigations or thoughts; fruitful in expedients or in crimes.
  • Plenteous; copious; bountiful.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Full of fruit; producing fruit abundantly; bearing results; prolific; fertile; liberal; bountiful

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Favourable to the growth of fruit or useful vegetation; fertile; not barren.
  • adjective Being productive in any sense; yielding benefits.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective productive or conducive to producing in abundance

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

fruit +‎ -ful

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Examples

  • He was speaking after what he called a fruitful meeting with the NSC executive at his Houghton, Johannesburg, home.

    ANC Daily News Briefing 1996

  • Accusing scientists of being wrong for pursuing a path they have found fruitful, is criticism.

    Combinatorial Dependencies 2007

  • Accusing scientists of being wrong for pursuing a path they have found fruitful, is criticism.

    Combinatorial Dependencies 2007

  • He was not suggesting we look towards the body or the soul to the exclusion of the other, but to allow them to remain, in fruitful contest, within the imagination.

    Blake's Contraries Game 2005

  • At Hope College I spent two years in fruitful study, but decided to transfer to the University of Michigan in Ann Arborafter my favorite professor, Dr.J. Harvey Kleinheksel, died of a heart attack, and the organic chemistry professor with whom I had hoped to do research, Dr. Gerrit Van Zyl, announced his retirement.

    Richard E. Smalley - Autobiography 1997

  • Churches should be well satisfied in some way that they call a fruitful minister, and not a dry stalk — that is, a mere intellect, a mere head with little heart; an elegant writer, but with no unction; a great logician, but of little faith; a fervid imagination, it may be, with no Holy Ghost power.

    Power From On High 1944

  • This little historic fragment is rich in fruitful themes for solemn meditation.

    The Assassinated President 1865

  • Those that were hungry are made to dwell in fruitful lands; there they take root, and gain a settlement, and prepare a city for habitation for themselves and theirs after them.

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon) 1721

  • It is he who, out of those vapours so raised, forms the rain, so that the earth is no loser by the vapours it sends up, for they are returned with advantage in fruitful showers.

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon) 1721

  • How the fruitfulness of the earth must therefore be devoted to heaven, which is intimated in his calling the fruitful fields fields of offerings.

    Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume II (Joshua to Esther) 1721

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