industrious

English

Etymology

From Middle French industrieux, from Late Latin industriosus (“diligent, active, industrious”), from Latin industria (“diligence, industry”); see industry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈdʌstɹi.əs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

industrious (comparative more industrious, superlative most industrious)

1. Hard-working and persistent.

   She was a very industrious student at school.

   • 1941, Ogden Nash, The Face is Familiar, Garden City Publishing Company, The ant, page 224:

     The ant has made himself illustrious / Through constant industry industrious. / So what? / Would you be calm and placid / If you were full of formic acid?

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:industrious

Antonyms

• lazy

Derived terms

• industriously
• industriousness
• over-industrious

 

Related terms

• industrial
• industry

Translations

hard-working and persistent

• Arabic: مُجْتَهِد‎ (ar) (mujtahid)
• Armenian: աշխատասեր (hy) (ašxataser)
• Azerbaijani: işgüzar, əməksevər
• Bashkir: эшсән (eşsän), егәрле (yegärle)
• Belarusian: працаві́ты (pracavíty), стара́нны (be) (staránny), руплі́вы (ruplívy), пі́льны (pílʹny)
• Bulgarian: трудолюби́в (bg) (trudoljubív), работли́в (bg) (rabotlív), приле́жен (bg) (priléžen), усъ́рден (bg) (usǎ́rden), стара́телен (bg) (starátelen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 刻苦 (zh) (kèkǔ), 耐勞／耐劳 (zh) (nàiláo), 努力 (zh) (nǔlì), 勤奮／勤奋 (zh) (qínfèn), 勤勞／勤劳 (zh) (qínláo), 勤勉 (zh) (qínmiǎn)

• Czech: pilný (cs) m
• Danish: arbejdsom, ihærdig, flitig
• Dutch: ijverig (nl), vlijtig (nl)
• Esperanto: laborema
• Finnish: ahkera (fi)
• French: industrieux (fr), diligent (fr)
• Georgian: შრომისმოყვარე (šromismoq̇vare), მშრომელი (mšromeli)
• German: fleißig (de), arbeitsam (de), eifrig (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: φιλόπονος (philóponos), φιλεργός (philergós)

• Hindi: मेहनती (hi) (mehnatī)
• Ingrian: töökäs
• Irish: tábhachtach, saothrach
• Italian: industrioso (it), laborioso (it)
• Japanese: 勤勉 (ja) (きんべん, kinben)
• Korean: 부지런하다 (ko) (bujireonhada), 근면하다 (ko) (geunmyeonhada)
• Kyrgyz: эмгекчил (ky) (emgekçil)
• Latin: sēdulus, industrius, labōriōsus
• Latvian: centīgs, cītīgs, uzcītīgs, strādīgs
• Macedonian: усрден (usrden), трудољубив (trudoljubiv)
• Manchu: ᡴᡳᠴᡝᠪᡝ (kicebe)
• Maori: houhere, mamahi, ahuwhenua, pukumahi, ahunui, ringa tōhaunui
• Persian: تخشا‎ (toxšâ)
• Polish: pilny (pl) m
• Portuguese: industrioso, trabalhador (pt), esforçado (pt), laborioso (pt), diligente (pt)
• Romanian: industrios (ro), harnic (ro), laborios (ro)
• Russian: приле́жный (ru) m (priléžnyj), усе́рдный (ru) m (usérdnyj), трудолюби́вый (ru) m (trudoljubívyj), работя́щий (ru) m (rabotjáščij)
• Scottish Gaelic: dèanadach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: трудољубив, марљив

  Roman: trudoljubiv, marljiv (sh)

• Slovak: pilný, pracovitý, usilovný
• Spanish: aplicado (es), trabajador (es), laborioso (es), empeñoso, afanoso (es), industrioso, diligente (es)
• Swedish: flitig (sv), ihärdig (sv), idog (sv)
• Tagalog: sipag
• Turkish: gayretli (tr)
• Ukrainian: стара́нний (staránnyj), пи́льний (pýlʹnyj), рете́льний (retélʹnyj)
• Urdu: میہنتی‎ (mehnatī)
• Vietnamese: chăm chỉ (vi)

Further reading

• “industrious”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “industrious”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• industrious at OneLook Dictionary Search