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Meaning & use

fruitfulness

noun·Academicformal

Last updated

UK/ˈfruːtfəlnəs/
US/ˈfruːtfəlnəs/

Meanings

  1. noununcountableformal

    The quality of producing good results, useful ideas, or something valuable.

    Grammar: Uncountable: no plural and no 'a/an'. Say 'the fruitfulness of the discussion', not 'a fruitfulness'.

    Patterns

    • the fruitfulness of something
    • bring fruitfulness to something

    The fruitfulness of the meeting surprised everyone; three new projects came out of it.

    Her research is judged by its fruitfulness, not by how many pages it fills.

    The community prayed for fruitfulness in the coming year.

  2. noununcountableliterarytechnical

    The state of a plant or tree producing a lot of fruit.

    Grammar: Uncountable and rather literary; in ordinary gardening talk, people say 'a good crop' or 'heavy cropping' instead.

    Patterns

    • the fruitfulness of a tree
    • ensure fruitfulness

    Pruning in winter improves the fruitfulness of apple trees.

    The old orchard was known for the fruitfulness of its pear trees.

Common combinations

the fruitfulness of something
The fruitfulness of their partnership was clear from the results.
bring fruitfulness
Good soil and steady rain bring fruitfulness to the fields.
pray for fruitfulness
The congregation prayed for fruitfulness in their work.
a period of fruitfulness
The 1920s were a period of fruitfulness for the young writer.

Synonyms and how they differ

productiveness
Productiveness focuses on how much is produced; fruitfulness also suggests the results are good or valuable.
fertility
Fertility is mostly used for land, soil, or living things; fruitfulness can also describe ideas and discussions.
usefulness
Usefulness is more everyday and practical; fruitfulness is more formal and often suggests rich, lasting results.

Opposites

barrennesssterility

Word family

fruitful adjective
Producing good results or a lot of fruit.
fruitfully adverb
In a way that produces good results.
fruitless adjective
Producing no useful results; unsuccessful.
fruit noun
The sweet part of a plant that contains seeds.

Commonly confused: fruitfulness or fruitful?

fruitfulness vs fruitful

Fruitful is the adjective ('a fruitful discussion'); fruitfulness is the noun ('the fruitfulness of the discussion').

Practice

The researchers measured the ______ of the new teaching method by looking at student progress.

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