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.

---

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

---

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

Walgreens proceeded to shutter 60 VillageMD clinics as part of its strategy to focus on “our highest opportunity markets,” Driscoll said, meaning affluent urban and suburban areas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

In Short Hills, N.J., an affluent suburb of New York City where many homes sell for more than their asking price, real-estate agent Chrissy Schwartz’s buyer clients have been getting creative with their all-cash offers.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

There are elaborate portraits of seemingly affluent Black couples, a proud school band, and women learning dressmaking at an institute in the deep southern state of Alabama.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Dulkay had known Bucha as an affluent Kyiv suburb with parks and woodland where he would travel with his family.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

The affluent suburb of Wayne might as well have been the Serengeti the way I imagined animals surrounding me.

From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore

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

Here are five distinct ridges, up and down, and through and around which, the Columbia and its affluents chase each other in a dizzy dance.

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

This creek and hills should be distinguished from Medicine Knoll and a creek of that name, eastern affluents a few miles higher up.—Ed.

From Travels in the Interior of North America, Part I, (Being Chapters I-XV of the London Edition, 1843) Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Volume XXII by Alexander Philipp Maximilian

The Maramec is the principal stream of the mine country, and is the recipient of affluents, spreading over a large area.

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

The river receives many affluents, of which the most important are the Rubeshibe, Chupets, Piegawa, the Sorachi River, and the Toyohira on its south side, and the Uriugawa on its north side.

From Alone with the Hairy Ainu or, 3,800 miles on a pack saddle in Yezo and a cruise to the Kurile Islands. by A. H. Savage Landor

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

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

---