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

For instance, one single-family home in Ladue, an affluent suburb of St. Louis, is currently listed for $6.1 million, and another custom home is listed for about $3.8 million.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

Through the settlements, Houck said she hoped Charter would address a disparity in which low-income residents are often stuck with bigger phone and internet bills than residents in more affluent areas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

After weeks of poring over listings for a place for him and three roommates, Mallot finally found a four-bedroom in the historic and affluent Nob Hill district.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Yet behind its wild coastal beauty and affluent towns lies a different story: one of lost opportunities and the unfulfilled potential of many growing up in the region.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

Some state legislators from northern Virginia’s affluent suburbs have argued that this is a form of geographic discrimination and have quixotically proposed bills to outlaw it.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

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

The approach from the west was barred by the Kerkha, and from the east by the Dizful and its affluents.

From The History of Antiquity Vol. VI. (vol. VI. of VI.) by Max Duncker

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

The road, after leaving the mountains, has very few affluents, the only constructed bridges for the distance being one over the Loup Fork and the North Platte.

From Monopolies and the People by D. C. Cloud

Its principal affluents are the Prosen on the right and the Noran on the left.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various

Related Words

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