affluent

American  

[af-loo-uhnt, uh-floo-] / ˈæf lu ənt, əˈflu- /

adjective

1. 

   having an abundance of wealth, property, or other material goods; prosperous; rich.

   an affluent person.

2. abounding in anything; abundant.

   Synonyms:

   teeming

3. flowing freely.

   an affluent fountain.

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noun

• affluents
  plural

1. a tributary stream.

2. an affluent person.

   a luxurious resort appealing to young affluents.

affluent British  

/ ˈæflʊənt /

adjective

1. rich; wealthy

2. abundant; copious

3. flowing freely

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noun

1. archaic a tributary stream

Synonym Usage

See rich.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonaffluent
  adjective
• subaffluent
  adjective
• superaffluent
  adjective
• unaffluent
  adjective
• affluently
  adverb
• subaffluently
  adverb
• superaffluently
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• affluents
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of affluent

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin affluent- (stem of affluēns “rich”; originally present participle of affluere ), equivalent to af- af- + flu- “flow” + -ent -ent

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Explanation

You know you're driving through an affluent neighborhood when you see large houses, perfect landscaping, and expensive cars. Use affluent to describe wealthy people or areas. In Middle English, affluent meant "abundant, flowing," from Old French, from Latin affluēns, from affluere "to abound in," from the prefix ad- "to, at" plus fluere "to flow." The meaning of "abundant, flowing" is still seen in phrases such as "affluent prose." But mostly, when you use the word affluent, the thing understood to be flowing is cash.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

affluent affluents

That year, the quarterback purchased an extravagant estate in an affluent community south of Denver for $4.6 million.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026

After Harry and Meghan separated themselves from the British family, they settled in California in the affluent neighborhood of Montecito.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

During the 1980s, it ranked among Israel's more affluent municipalities and hosted the country's largest music festival.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

"There's a wide inequity between women in more affluent areas and women in poorer areas."

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

A first-rate Russian might easily abscond to the more affluent West.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

This “we are like you, but slightly better” model has many less-affluent Millennials wishing for earlier times when affluents entirely segregated themselves rather than show them what they are missing out on.

From Forbes ● Oct. 2, 2012

This stream waters the country of the mines, and interlocks, by its affluents, with the Gasconade on the west, and the St. Francis on the south.

From Scenes and Andventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft

Then they shed their moisture on its eastern slopes, which give birth to the multitudinous upper waters of the Orinoco, the Amazon and the western affluents of the River Plate.

From South America and the War by F. A. (Frederick Alexander) Kirkpatrick

With the possible exception of the main affluents of the Upper Amazon in the Peruvian Cordillera, these are the only great rivers in the running for a record of this kind.

From Down the Yellowstone by Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome) Freeman

Seine river, ancient level of, 214; affluents of, 435.

From Man and Nature or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action by George P. Marsh

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Related Words

• moneyed
• prosperous
• rich
• upscale
• well-off
• well-to-do

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