How to spell industrious

hear itin·dus·tri·ous/ɪn'dəstriəs/adjectiveSchwa and roots

What it means: Hardworking and diligent.

In a sentence: The busy beaver is very industrious, building his dam all day long.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as industrius or industriuos.

Same family: industrial, industrialize, industriously, industriousness. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Industrious comes from the Latin word 'industria,' meaning 'diligence' or 'zeal.' Over time, English shifted the meaning from general diligence to the idea of someone who works hard and steadily.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

ambitious · ingenious · envious · mysterious · generous · religious · glorious · ruinous

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