resourceful
adjective
resourceful is an adjective meaning “Capable or clever; able to put available resources to efficient or ingenious use; using materials at hand wisely or efficiently” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled R-E-S-O-U-R-C-E-F-U-L and has 3 syllables, and it appears 1.2 times per million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does resourceful mean?
adjective
- 1
Capable or clever; able to put available resources to efficient or ingenious use; using materials at hand wisely or efficiently.
With a resourceful use of space and a fresh coat of paint, the room became a pleasant library with a comfortable seating area.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce resourceful?
Resourceful has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-resourceful.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of resourceful
- more resourceful comparative
- most resourceful superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is resourceful?
Resourceful appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Resourceful in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense capable or clever; able to put available resources to efficient or ingenious use:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | débrouillard, futé |
| German | findig, einfallsreich |
| Portuguese | inventivo, engenhoso, habilidoso, capaz |
| Spanish | apañado, ingenioso, con recursos, que tiene recursos |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does resourceful come from?
From resource + -ful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).