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

Zuckerberg spent more than $110 million buying up at least 11 homes in the affluent neighborhood of Crescent Park in Palo Alto, irking some of his neighbors, the New York Times reported.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

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

Named after the seaside town, the Clacton constituency also includes relatively affluent Frinton-on-Sea, England's most-deprived neighbourhood of Jaywick, and villages and farms inland.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

The waterfront estate on affluent La Gorce Island has a dock and 100 feet of frontage on Biscayne Bay.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Both were affluent suburbs, only Dover was farmlike and quiet, and Brookline, which was technically part of the city, was a bustling metropolis.

From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan

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 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

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 William Denison Lyman

His chief purpose was to visit a natural bridge of rock across one of the affluents of the James river, in the Appalachian mountains.

From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by E. Rameur

The principal rivers flowing from the watershed northward are the Findhorn, Spey, Don, Dee and their tributaries, and southward the South Esk, Tay and Forth with their affluents.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various

Related Words

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