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

For more precise information, Three Rivers Waterkeeper, a nonprofit that helps protect and restore the water quality of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers and their surrounding watersheds, samples the rivers and tributaries weekly each summer as part of its Swim Guide program. — Daniel Bain, The Conversation, 22 June 2026

The water, too, was wild—the Allegheny and its tributaries had yet to be dammed, and Flag Swamp was noted as one of the last hideouts for beavers in the state. — Literary Hub, 10 June 2026

Adjective

That salty, terminal lake had its tributary water diverted away by the city of Los Angeles, turning it into a dry salt flat. — Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 19 Sep. 2023

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