What does thrive mean?
Word: Thrive
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Thrive means to grow strong and healthy, or to do very well and be successful.
Synonyms: flourish, prosper, grow, succeed
Antonyms: wither, fail, decline
How do you spell thrive?
Syllables: thrive
Tricky part: The e at the end is silent. Leave it off and you write thriv, which is not a word.
Watch out for: thriv, thrieve
Memory tip: A thriving plant keeps growing right to the tip, and the word keeps going to its silent e at the end.
Thrive in a sentence
Example 1: Basil plants thrive in warm, sunny places.
Example 2: Some children thrive on challenges and love hard puzzles.
Example 3: The small shop began to thrive after the new road was built.
Fun Fact
Thrive came into English from the Old Norse thrifask, meaning to grasp for oneself. Thrift, careful use of money, comes from the same root.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Probe
One word in the sentence is misspelt. Choose the meaning of that word:
Cactus plants thryve in the desert because their thick stems can store water for months.
a) a large dry area with very little rain
b) to be at its best and keep growing
c) to keep something to use later
d) the main stalk of a plant
Show answer
b) to be at its best and keep growing. Thrive spells its long i sound with a plain i, not a y.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
With plenty of sun and water, the sunflowers began to ___.
a) thrive
b) wither
c) wilt
d) droop
Show answer
a) thrive. Wither, wilt and droop all describe plants growing weak, which sun and water would not cause.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
vierth 123456
a) 564213
b) 546213
c) 312465
d) 564231
Show answer
a) 564213. Letters 5, 6 and 4 give t, h and r; then 2, 1 and 3 add i, v and e.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with thrive?
a) arrive
b) five
c) survive
d) give
Show answer
d) give. Give looks like the others but has the short i of sit.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sentence uses thrive correctly?
a) Fish thrive in clean water.
b) The thrive was very long.
c) Please thrive the door shut.
d) He thrived the ball to me.
Show answer
a) Fish thrive in clean water.
2. A thriving garden has ___.
a) leaves full of holes and spots
b) dry brown stems and no buds
c) bare soil with no plants at all
d) thick green leaves and lots of flowers
Show answer
d) thick green leaves and lots of flowers
