confluent

[ kon-floo-uhnt ]

adjective

1. flowing or running together; blending into one:

   confluent rivers;

   confluent ideas.

2. Pathology.
   1. running together:

      confluent efflorescences.

   2. characterized by confluent efflorescences:

      confluent smallpox.

noun

1. one of two or more confluent streams.
2. a tributary stream.

ˈconfluent

/ ˈkɒnflʊənt /

adjective

1. flowing together or merging

noun

1. a stream that flows into another, usually of approximately equal size

Word History and Origins

Origin of confluent¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin confluent-, stem of confluēns “flowing together”; equivalent to con- + fluent

Word History and Origins

Origin of confluent¹

C17: from Latin confluēns, from confluere to flow together, from fluere to flow

Example Sentences

Miss Eliot had too rashly taken the alarm, as Mrs. G.'s sort, though confluent, was a very good one.

From Project Gutenberg

If you anoint a patient that has confluent smallpox you probably can not wipe away the oil, because the skin will be pustular.

From Project Gutenberg

The Small Pox is of two varieties or degrees, distinct and confluent.

From Project Gutenberg

They are eight or nine in number, thickly spotted with reddish-brown, these spots being confluent at the larger end.

From Project Gutenberg

The mandibles have five teeth, but the fifth is sometimes confluent with the inferior angle.

From Project Gutenberg