affluent

1 of 2

adjective

af·​flu·​ent ˈa-(ˌ)flü-ənt How to pronounce affluent (audio)
 also  a-ˈflü-,
 or  ə-
1
: having an abundance of goods or riches : wealthy
affluent families
our affluent society
2
: flowing in abundance
affluent streams
affluent creativity
affluently adverb

affluent

2 of 2

noun

1
: a tributary stream
… its meandering stream, one of the smaller affluents of the Sacramento.John Muir
2
[derivative of affluent entry 1] : a wealthy or affluent person
The affluents exhibit far less demographic diversity than is exhibited in any of the lower-income segments of the population.Pamela N. Danzinger

Did you know?

Visualize with us: coffers overflowing, a cash flow more than adequate, assets that are fluid. The image conjured is the essence of the word affluent. Based on Latin fluere, meaning "to flow," affluent is all about flow. (The same image is echoed in other fluere descendants, such as confluence, fluctuate, fluid, influence, mellifluous, and superfluous.) The flowing of goods or riches wasn't the word's first purview, however; 16th century print examples of affluent tend to be about the abundance of such intangibles as "goodness" and "spirit." In the 17th century, the flow suggested by affluent varied greatly: streams, poisons, estates, and blood were all described with the word. In modern use, affluent most often describes wealthy people, or places where wealthy people live.

Choose the Right Synonym for affluent

rich, wealthy, affluent, opulent mean having goods, property, and money in abundance.

rich implies having more than enough to gratify normal needs or desires.

became rich through shrewd investing

wealthy stresses the possession of property and intrinsically valuable things.

wealthy landowners

affluent suggests prosperity and an increasing wealth.

an affluent society

opulent suggests lavish expenditure and display of great wealth, more often applying to things than people.

an opulent mansion

Examples of affluent in a Sentence

Adjective The store catered to a mostly affluent clientele that was relatively price insensitive, so we could afford to pay our suppliers a premium for the very best fish. The shop also developed a significant wholesale business, and soon the great and the good of London gastronomy were flocking to our door. Frances Percival, Saveur, March 2008
A recent crop of books and articles give voice to this complaint. They happen to be written by journalists who are also well-educated and affluent mothers, but when it comes to parental discontent they are not alone. Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, Commonweal, 16 June 2006
The Bay Area, which encompasses the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, as well as surrounding areas, is one of the nation's most affluent regions: More than 40% of the area's residents have annual household income of at least $75,000, versus only 25% in the country's other top 50 markets, according to Scarborough Research. Eileen Davis Hudson et al., Editor & Publisher, 1 Oct. 2001
His family was more affluent than most. he is affluent and can afford to send his children to the best schools Noun the Nipigon and the St. Louis rivers are affluents of Lake Superior
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Read More Where Haley Won: Nate Cohn, our chief political analyst, looks at the affluent and highly educated Republicans who voted for Haley and could vote for Biden in the general election. Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Hansen, the most moderate contender in the six-person race, won most precincts in East Sacramento and Land Park, which contain the city’s most affluent enclaves. Theresa Clift, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2024 The Chaparrals were without the necessary resources to compete in a baseball scene in Dallas-Fort Worth that is dominated by affluent schools. Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Mar. 2024 The affluent suburb has long been prized for its quiet seclusion and grand residences. Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 3 Mar. 2024 For a brief time in 2021, the affluent town of San Marino in Los Angeles County saw a dramatic decrease in residential burglaries, its most common crime. Cyrus Farivar, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 The unlikely trio — an actor, a director and struggling artist — come together while investigating a string of suspicious murders in and around their affluent apartment building and offers plenty of laughs with just the right amount of narrative tension. Zara Khan, CNN, 26 Feb. 2024 In the $5 billion Safe Streets and Roads for All program, most of the money doled out so far has gone to more affluent counties with lower fatality rates. USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024 There are two Indias – the relatively small, but globally visible, English-speaking India, and the vast, multilingual and increasingly affluent and aspirational Bharat (the ancient Sanskrit name for the country), where the growth will come from. Patrick Frater, Variety, 1 Mar. 2024
Noun
For example, far more younger affluents are worried about climate change and view their wealth as a tool for change. Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024 His scheming mother, a former Hong Kong supermodel, puts forth a proposal: attend his sister’s wedding at a tropical luxury resort and seduce a woman with money among the who’s who of the affluent. Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 20 Dec. 2023 During the pandemic, the luxury market thrived as the affluent—unfazed by price hikes—indulged in Birkin bags and rare watches. Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 25 Dec. 2023 Some of these were made specifically to be entombed with the affluent, while others were used in rituals at ancestral altars, according to the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 22 Dec. 2023 Those who live longest are whites, college graduates and the affluent. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2023 This is a big kick in the teeth to states with progressive tax codes where higher taxes on the affluent have been cushioned in the federal tax code, which allows such taxes to be itemized and deducted from federal taxable income. Andrea Louise Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 16 May 2017 While income gains were most pronounced for the affluent, the data showed clearly that Americans made nearly across-the-board financial progress in the three years that include the pandemic. Ben Casselman, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2023 Tony shrugs off criticisms that the company caters only to the affluent to the exclusion of the 99 percent. Seth Abramovitch, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'affluent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, "flowing in abundance, copious," borrowed from Latin affluent-, affluens "flowing with, abundant," present participle of affluere "to flow in, come streaming along, be abundantly present," from ad- ad- + fluere "to flow, run" — more at fluid entry 1

Noun

borrowed from French, borrowed from Latin affluent-, affluens "flowing in" — more at affluent entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1735, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of affluent was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near affluent

Cite this Entry

“Affluent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/affluent. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

affluent

adjective
af·​flu·​ent
ˈaf-ˌlü-ənt,
 also  a-ˈflü-,
ə-ˈflü-
: having plenty of money and the things money can buy
affluently adverb
Etymology

Adjective

Middle English affluent "abundant," derived from Latin ad- "to" and fluere "to flow" — related to fluid

More from Merriam-Webster on affluent

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