Meaning & use
resourceful
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Meaning
adjectivecomparableapproving
Good at finding clever ways to deal with problems, especially when you have few tools or little help.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a resourceful child; she is resourceful.
Patterns
- be resourceful in something
- be resourceful at doing something
A resourceful camper used a flat stone as a frying pan.
She was resourceful enough to fix the bike with a paperclip.
The team proved resourceful when the power went out.
Word forms
| comparative | more resourceful |
|---|---|
| superlative | most resourceful |
Common combinations
- a resourceful person
- Ask Liam; he is a resourceful person.
- remarkably resourceful
- The children were remarkably resourceful in the storm.
- resourceful in
- She is resourceful in a crisis.
- a resourceful solution
- The engineers found a resourceful solution using spare parts.
- prove resourceful
- Our guide proved resourceful when the map was lost.
Synonyms and how they differ
- inventive
- Inventive stresses creating new ideas, while resourceful stresses making do with what is at hand.
- ingenious
- Ingenious praises the cleverness of an idea itself, and can describe a gadget as well as a person.
- enterprising
- Enterprising means bold and eager to start new ventures, particularly in business.
- clever
- Clever is general intelligence and does not imply practical problem-solving under pressure.
Opposites
Word family
- resource noun
- a supply of something useful
- resourcefulness noun
- the ability to solve problems with limited means
- resourcefully adverb
- in a clever, practical way
- resource verb
- to supply with what is needed
Commonly confused: resourceful or resourced?
resourceful vs resourced
Resourced means supplied with money or equipment, not clever at solving problems.
Practice
With no ladder, the _____ gardener stood on a bucket to reach the apples.
Choose one answer.
Resourceful describes someone who finds a clever practical fix. Reluctant, wasteful and resentful describe attitudes that do not match the action.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “resourceful”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.