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

Until he moved to an address in Otley, West Yorkshire, as part of his bail conditions, Bush lived in an affluent part of the East Riding of Yorkshire.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

With summer in full swing, affluent buyers with cash to burn may be eyeing second homes.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

"In India, cricket gives scale, tennis gives premium audiences…Wimbledon brings something cricket cannot - a premium, affluent, English-speaking, urban audience that brands in luxury, automotive, banking, fintech, travel and premium consumer goods actively."

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

Even athletic brands that are struggling in the U.S., like Lululemon, have found fertile ground in China, where yoga and Pilates have become popular among affluent urban women.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

A day later, on Sunday, it was the Under Fifteens’ turn for a big away game, against a Roswell Soccer Club team called the Santos, from an affluent suburb north of Atlanta.

From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John

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

Thus the Po is said to have long inclined to move its channel southward in consequence of the superior mechanical force of its northern affluents.

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

Hence we can expect no such vast extent of navigable water on them as the Mississippi and its affluents offer.

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

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 Kirkpatrick, F. A. (Frederick Alexander)

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 Freeman, Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome)

Related Words

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