Definition of confluent
(Entry 1 of 2)
: marked by or exhibiting confluence: such as
a
: flowing or coming together
confluent streams/rivers You can hear the sound from the beach at a distance, before you see the people. It is that most extraordinary noise, half-shout, half-song, made by confluent, simultaneously raised human voices, explaining things to each other.— Lewis Thomas He fought the swaying, jiggling motion, which was mixed with the warm confluent smells of rubber floor mat and petroleum combustion …— John Updike
b
medical
(1)
of lesions or skin eruptions
: having run or grown together and so no longer discrete
The lesions begin as 1 to 3 mm macules that gradually become confluent assuming a reticulated lacelike pattern.— Pearl E. Grimes
(2)
: characterized by lesions or skin eruptions that have run or grown together
On physical examination, patient A developed confluent urticaria that initially appeared on the thorax …— Thomas B. Casale et al.
c
cell biology, of a cell culture
: covering the culture substrate completely or nearly completely
As the epithelial cell cultures become more confluent, they take on a cobblestone like appearance as the cells pack together.— Yvonne A. Reid When a confluent culture of 3T3 cells is wounded, new growth occurs at the wound margins.— Graham A. Dunn et al.
confluent
nounDefinition of confluent (Entry 2 of 2)
: a confluent stream
broadly
: tributary
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for confluent
The first known use of confluent was circa 1525
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