Synonyms of tributary

tributary 1 of 2

noun

ˈtri-byə-ˌter-ē 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• headwater
• branch
• bayou
• feeder
• source
• influent
• affluent
• confluent
• creek
• backwater
• brook
• rivulet
• rill
• streamlet
• brooklet
• headstream
• fountainhead
• run
• head

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• effluent
• distributary

tributary

2 of 2

adjective

as in subordinate

Related Words

• subordinate
• assisting
• assistant
• complementary
• contributory
• subsidiary
• supportive
• secondary
• additional
• further
• helping
• adjuvant
• another
• surplus
• excess
• peripheral
• auxiliary
• superfluous
• added
• subservient
• appurtenant
• nonessential
• makeshift
• accessory
• dispensable
• backup
• unessential
• supplementary
• supplemental
• accessorial
• substitute

Dissimilar Words

• main
• principal
• chief
• primary
• basic
• fundamental
• prime
• necessary
• essential
• integral
• vital
• imperative
• required
• requisite
• all-important
• indispensable
• needful
• needed

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of tributary

Noun

The Shahtoot Dam, which would be built on a tributary of the Kabul River, could provide water for more than 2 million people in the city. — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026

The Arapiuns flows into the Tapajos, one of the Amazon River’s major tributaries, across waterways so vast that navigating them can feel like crossing the open sea. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026

Adjective

But these capitalists were encircled for hundreds of years by a sea of subsistence farmers and tributary empires that operated on completely different principles. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 18 Jan. 2026

History is everywhere in Okinawa, which from 1429 to 1879 was the Ryukyu Kingdom, a tributary state under China’s Ming and Qing dynasties. — Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 16 Jan. 2026