Meaning & use

industrious

adjective·Academic

Hardworking, diligent, and consistently productive in one's efforts.

See it in a sentence

The industrious apprentice arrived early every morning and stayed late to master his craft.

Ants are famously industrious, building complex colonies through constant cooperative labor.

A note on using this word

Industrious praises sustained effort and work ethic, distinct from "efficient," which emphasizes results achieved with minimal waste.

Words with a similar meaning

diligenthardworkingproductive

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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