Gainful
What it means
Producing useful income or a worthwhile result.
Reach for it when describing work or activity that provides a practical return
The training helped three apprentices move into gainful employment.
Words to choose between 6
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal |
|
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everyday
paying
Fits when plain language should stress that a role provides wages
Careful Paying sounds casual and cannot by itself suggest broader usefulness.
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warm
Fits when time or effort yields value beyond income
Careful Worthwhile is subjective; no material return follows from that judgment.
-
professional
Fits when the return is unusually large
Careful Lucrative exaggerates ordinary work that simply provides a living.
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professional
Fits when useful output matters more than money
Careful Productive activity may be unpaid and therefore not gainful employment.
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professional
Fits when financial return is the specific measure
Careful Profitable usually describes a venture, not the social value of having paid work.
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formal
Fits when the work pays enough to deserve emphasis
Careful Remunerative is stiff and focuses only on compensation.
Opposites 3
- unprofitable
- unpaid
- fruitless
Common phrases 3
-
gainful employment
Reliable transit made gainful employment possible outside the village.
-
gainful work
The cooperative creates gainful work during the quiet season.
-
gainful activity
Restored mobility allowed him to resume gainful activity.
Usage notes
Keep in mind
Gainful is most natural in the established phrase gainful employment and can sound bureaucratic elsewhere.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Updated