rewarding

1 of 2

adjective

re·​ward·​ing ri-ˈwȯr-diŋ How to pronounce rewarding (audio)
Synonyms of rewardingnext
1
: yielding or likely to yield a reward : valuable, satisfying
a rewarding experience
2
: serving as a reward
a rewarding smile of thanks
rewardingly adverb

rewarding

2 of 2

present participle of reward entry 1

Synonyms of rewarding

Relevance

Adjective

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of rewarding in a Sentence

Adjective Her work is financially rewarding. pursued a rewarding career providing medical care to poor children in rural areas
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adjective
Convenience isn't the only reason to consider crafting a combination of Citi credit cards; Citi ThankYou® Rewards has valuable transfer partners and rewarding bonus spending categories. — Jason Stauffer, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026 Was there something particularly rewarding in overseeing the album? — Daniel Kohn, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2026 Alaska has a history of rewarding candidates with an independent streak — something Vance acknowledged during his trip to Fairbanks last week. — Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026 Danielle and Himesh, along with the rest of our cast, have brought such original perspectives and performances to these characters, and watching that come together has been one of the most rewarding parts of the experience. — Denise Petski, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for rewarding

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1697, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of rewarding was in 1697

Phrases Containing rewarding

Rhymes for rewarding

See All Rhymes for rewarding

Browse Nearby Words

rewardful
rewarding
rewardless
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rewarding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rewarding. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

rewarding

adjective
re·​ward·​ing
: giving satisfaction
a rewarding experience

More from Merriam-Webster on rewarding

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about rewarding

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All