Fruitful Meanings

To keep Fruitful top of mind, I’m following LisaNotes ideas. This month she has encouraged us to address our Word of the Year or guidepost for this season through etymology. I’ll define Fruitful, find synonyms and antonyms.

Fruitful

Fruitful has various uses that all seem to group around one meaning: producing much fruit. Even producing good results, as an alternative, is quite a similar usage but in different contexts. So, we have positive yields in business and in agriculture.

A fruitful discussion usually means that it was active and yielded a positive solution or answer or opened new viewpoints. A fruitful season is usually abundant.

Similarly fruitful

Thriving and flourishing are similar to fruitful, but to me, they have a connotation of even more abundance. Bearing is a more neutral representation of fruitful. Inventive is also listed as a synonym, but that seems to be along the lines of new production than “typical” or “abundant”. Again, we see different contexts.

Not fruitful

Lastly, we have simple antonyms, unfertile or unproductive. Sparse would be the opposite of the neutral representation of fruitful. Barren is another direct opposite of producing fruit.

What is needed for fruitfulness?

Having chosen fruitful in an attempt to move toward and see God’s abundance, the antonyms are quite stark to me. Fruitful itself offers the idea of various “levels” of production, from little to great amounts. From little growth to great. However, the word doesn’t tell us what is required to produce or may fruitful. What do you see as necessary to be fruitful? Pop a comment below, I’d love to hear from you!