confluence
Americannoun
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a flowing together of two or more streams, rivers, or the like.
the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
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their place of junction.
St. Louis is at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.
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a body of water formed by the flowing together of two or more streams, rivers, or the like.
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a coming together of people or things; concourse.
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a crowd or throng; assemblage.
noun
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a merging or flowing together, esp of rivers
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a gathering together, esp of people
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A flowing together of two or more streams or two or more glaciers.
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The point of juncture of such streams or glaciers.
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The combined stream or glacier formed by this juncture.
Etymology
Origin of confluence
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin confluentia, from Latin confluent-, stem of confluēns “flowing together” ( see confluent) + -ia -ia
Explanation
Confluence means a flowing together. In a literal sense, it's about rivers. But it's more often used to talk about the coming together of factors or ideas, or of cultures in a diverse city. Con- means "with," and -fluence sounds like "flow." When things come together like rivers do, flowing from entirely different places, you call that a confluence. If the senior class needs to raise money for a class trip, and the drama club is looking for someone to do concessions during intermission at the school play, that's a confluence of factors.
Vocabulary lists containing confluence
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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com-, con-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The maker of workplace software programs Trello, Jira, and Confluence has been a victim of the broader selloff in software stocks on fears that AI will render them obsolete.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
At first "there was a consensus that this is not a Sudanese war but a war within the security state", says the Sudanese political analyst Kholood Khair, founder of the Confluence Advisory think tank.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
The extra requirements, which even smaller hospital systems like Confluence would have to follow, would likely not be worth the time and effort, he said.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024
But the deal left key problems unresolved, said Kholood Khair, founding director of the Khartoum-based think tank Confluence Advisory.
From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2023
When they come, they must come through the Onzar Confluence, not more than a parsec from this system.
From Evil Out of Onzar by Ganes, Mark
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
