affluence

noun

af·​flu·​ence ˈa-(ˌ)flü-ən(t)s 

also

a-ˈflü- 

 or  ə-

1

a

: abundance of property : wealth

rose from poverty to affluence

b

: an abundant flow or supply : profusion

… to attain that breadth and height, that wealth of muscle, that affluence of flesh.

—Charlotte Brontë

2

: a flowing to or toward a point : influx

Did you know?

What is the origin of affluence?

Affluence comes from the Latin verb affluere, "to flow abundantly". Thus, someone or something blessed with affluence has received an incoming flood of riches. Since the affluent residents of suburbs often work in the central city but pay taxes back home, the wealth of some metropolitan areas tends to flow in one direction—out.

Synonyms

• flux
• income
• inflow
• influx
• inpouring
• inrush

Examples of affluence in a Sentence

this affluence of new students is straining an already crowded school system

Recent Examples on the Web

Revisionist actors are challenging the global rules that underpin the relative affluence, security and stability of our post-1945 world. —Hal Brands, The Mercury News, 17 Sep. 2024

Those are the major takeaways from the Arton Capital affluence and elections survey of over 1,000 U.S. millionaires. —Byalicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2024

Global Travel Statistics Travel media has ample room for growth by incorporating the latest innovations to achieve responsible storytelling as global affluence inspires more people to travel. —Geoff Whitmore, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024

To propose a plural fate for modernity in the non-Western world is not to suggest that the trajectory of politicized caste, ethnicity, and religion in India or elsewhere leads inevitably to the universal affluence dreamed of by socialists in the past and flat-earth globalizers in the present. —Pankaj Mishra, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2013

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "abundance, profusion," borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin affluentia, noun derivative of affluent-, affluens affluent entry 1 — more at -ence

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Kids Definition

affluence

noun

af·​flu·​ence ˈaf-ˌlü-ən(t)s 

also

a-ˈflü- 

ə-ˈflü-

: the state of having much wealth or property