affluent

¹af·flu·ent

adjective \ˈa-(ˌ)flü-ənt also a-ˈflü- or ə-\

Definition of AFFLUENT

1

: flowing in abundance <affluent streams> <affluent creativity>

2

: having a generously sufficient and typically increasing supply of material possessions <our affluent society>

— af·flu·ent·ly adverb

Examples of AFFLUENT

1. His family was more affluent than most.
2. <he is affluent and can afford to send his children to the best schools>
3. The store catered to a mostly affluent clientele that was relatively price insensitive, so we could afford to pay our suppliers a premium for the very best fish. The shop also developed a significant wholesale business, and soon the great and the good of London gastronomy were flocking to our door. —Frances Percival, Saveur, March 2008
4. A recent crop of books and articles give voice to this complaint. They happen to be written by journalists who are also well-educated and affluent mothers, but when it comes to parental discontent they are not alone. —Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, Commonweal, 16 June 2006
5. The Bay Area, which encompasses the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, as well as surrounding areas, is one of the nation's most affluent regions: More than 40% of the area's residents have annual household income of at least $75,000, versus only 25% in the country's other top 50 markets, according to Scarborough Research. —Eileen Davis Hudson et al., Editor & Publisher, 1 Oct. 2001

Origin of AFFLUENT

Middle English, from Latin affluent-, affluens, present participle of affluere to flow to, flow abundantly, from ad- + fluere to flow — more at fluid

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to AFFLUENT

Synonyms

rich, deep-pocketed, fat, fat-cat, flush, loaded, moneyed (also monied), opulent, silk-stocking, wealthy, well-endowed, well-fixed, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do

Antonyms

destitute, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, needy, penniless, penurious, poor, poverty-stricken

Related Words

better-off, comfortable, propertied, prosperous, substantial, successful; flourishing, prospering, thriving; advantaged, blessed (also blest), privileged

Near Antonyms

unaffluent; deprived, disadvantaged, hand-to-mouth, underprivileged; bankrupt, bankrupted, beggared, broke, indebted, insolvent, pauperized, ruined, skint [chiefly British]; depressed, pinched, reduced, straitened; low, short

See Synonym Discussion at rich

²af·flu·ent

noun \ˈa-(ˌ)flü-ənt also a-ˈflü- or ə-\

Definition of AFFLUENT

1

: a tributary stream

2

: a wealthy or affluent person

Examples of AFFLUENT

1. <the Nipigon and the St. Louis rivers are affluents of Lake Superior>

Origin of AFFLUENT

(see ¹affluent)

First Known Use: 1828

Related to AFFLUENT

Synonyms

tributary, bayou, branch, confluent, feeder, influent

Antonyms

distributary, effluent

Related Words

backwater; brook, brooklet, creek, rill, rivulet, run [chiefly Midland], streamlet; fountainhead, head, headstream, headwater, source

Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

Rhymes with AFFLUENT

confluent, congruent, effluent, influent