adj. 1
Favorable.
He chose a prosperous lottery number that evening.
adj. 2
Characterized by success.
Trading Babe Ruth was far more prosperous for the Yankees than for the Red Sox.
adj. 3
Well off; affluent.
He was raised in a very prosperous household.

Related words

Word family: prosperity prosperously prosperousness prosper

Choose the right word

Prosperous, Happy or Prospered?

One is said to be happy or prosperous whether his prosperity be the result of fortune or of achievement; prospered rather denotes the action of a superintending Providence.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

lucky I am very lucky to have friends who care about me.
fortunate You are very fortunate that you have such friends.
favorable Algeria has a favorable geography for agriculture.
propitious We await a propitious time to act.
rich Even if I were rich, I wouldn't give money to him.
wealthy He can't be very wealthy, judging from his salary.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
prosperous		steady
lucky		rising
fortunate		steady
favorable		falling
propitious		falling
rich		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: fat¹
4 letters: good¹, easy², fair¹, rich¹
5 letters: happy², lucky², palmy
6 letters: golden², bright¹
7 letters: wealthy², roaring², booming², thrifty², halcyon³, moneyed²
8 letters: thriving², affluent³
9 letters: promising³, fortunate³, favorable⁴, opportune³
10 letters: successful³, favourable, auspicious³, burgeoning³, propitious³, felicitous⁴
11 letters: comfortable⁴, flourishing³

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (easy² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: prospère
Italiano: prospero
Español: próspero