as in headwater
a stream that flows into a larger body of water
the Amazon and its more than 1,000 known tributaries form the world's largest drainage basin
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in subordinate
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tributary
Katie Thornton, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
These ancient, natural waterways are former tributaries of the Rio Grande left behind hundreds to thousands of years ago when the river shifted its course.
—Gabi De La Rosa, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025
Time, 24 Aug. 2023
The edges of the country roads are decorated by tributary statues and banners flashing the faces of Allied soldiers who died in the fight.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 6 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for tributary
Noun
Of the more than five thousand tributaries that empty into the Great Lakes, about one in ten is infested with lampreys.
—Katie Thornton, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
These ancient, natural waterways are former tributaries of the Rio Grande left behind hundreds to thousands of years ago when the river shifted its course.
—Gabi De La Rosa, Southern Living, 15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Sometimes the killers may be Chechens maybe organized by Putin’s other feral favourite, his tributary ruler of Russia’s Chechen republic, Kadyrov.
—Time, 24 Aug. 2023
The edges of the country roads are decorated by tributary statues and banners flashing the faces of Allied soldiers who died in the fight.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 6 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for tributary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tributary
Noun
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Tie money to measurable results and sound governance, and benefits can travel from headwater villages to port cities linked by trade.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
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The headwaters of the Big Thompson River snake across an emerald plain, past beaver dams and aspen groves and toward the highest peaks of the Front Range.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Yasuda ordered his subordinate, Lieutenant Colonel Tatsusaburo Suzuki, to prepare a report on the feasibility of a uranium project in Japan.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
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Indeed, allowing men but not women to have multiple spouses is clearly unequal and entwined with patriarchal ideology that positions women as subordinate or inferior to men.—
David W. Lawson,
The Conversation,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Xi has also built up the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF), an elite branch overseeing China’s fast-expanding arsenal of nuclear and ballistic missiles.—
Tamara Qiblawi,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
-
How to prepare before strong winds approach Trim tree branches away from your house and power lines.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Adding to the anxiety is the fact that reported bayou deaths in the Houston area have more than doubled compared to 2023, with at least 25 deaths being confirmed so far this year by Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, the medical examiner.—
Dalia Faheid,
CNN Money,
27 Oct. 2025
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The manor’s theme, which has included both a bayou and an asylum, typically changes annually.—
Laura Kiniry,
Popular Science,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Zwerner, a now-former teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, sued ex-assistant principal Ebony Parker, alleging Parker failed to act on concerns that the student had brought a gun to school in January 2023.—
Cindy Von Quednow,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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Her complaint alleged the school's assistant principal at the time, Ebony Parker, failed to act after being informed multiple times that her student had a firearm on the day of the incident and did not let staff search him prior to the shooting.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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These birds need to visit feeders or food energy needed during their trip south.—
Chris McKeown,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
8 Nov. 2025
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That’s because small feeder flights are largely the ones getting canceled, not the flights between major cities.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Nowhere was that clearer than in midfield, where the complementary attributes of Freddie Potts, Lucas Paqueta and Mateus Fernandes provided a well-balanced engine room.—
Conor O'Neill,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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And that’s all without mentioning a run defense that flexed its strength against the Green Bay Packers, and a special teams group that is facilitating complementary football and more.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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But for much of the past two centuries, Port Renfrew’s main source of employment was not promoting trees but rather chopping them down—particularly, giant, old-growth trees that fetched the highest value.—
Brad Badelt,
Outside,
11 Nov. 2025
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One of the things that particularly irked fans was a report after the trade that slammed Dončić’s conditioning, with ESPN citing sources inside the franchise revealing frustration with his diet.—
Kyle Feldscher,
CNN Money,
11 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tributary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tributary. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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