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

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

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

Assignments didn’t go unread, unassessed or ungraded because affluent children attended elsewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

Ballooning investment on the nationwide AI build-out, as well as stock-market gains for the affluent, suggest the U.S. can continue weathering the shock for now.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The affluent coastal community gave its native son 51% of the vote in the June 2 primary, which would have been enough to win the job outright.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

"Those less affluent children are prioritised for 22.5 hours because that is going to ensure they are not on the backfoot as they enter into primary school."

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Performers came because Imre offered what every artist needs most—an appreciative, affluent audience.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

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

It should be noted that the area embraced within this estimate includes the Kings River basin as a whole, together with that of all its affluents.

From The Aboriginal Population of the San Joaquin Valley, California by Sherburne F. Cook

Its length is 1160 m., and with its affluents it drains an area of about 200,000 sq. m.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 9 "Dagupan" to "David" by Various

One cannot fully understand the River unless he has seen its cradle and the cradle of its affluents beneath the shadows of the great peaks of British Columbia.

From The Columbia River Its History, Its Myths, Its Scenery, Its Commerce by William Denison Lyman

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

Related Words

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