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

The company is even chasing the affluent shoppers who have been priced out of the luxury market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

Gen Z lags “behind other generations in retirement-account and individual-stock ownership, likely due to being less affluent overall,” said John McKenna, a senior analyst at the asset- and wealth-management research firm Cerulli Associates.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

The affluent coastal community gave its native son 51% of the vote in the June 2 primary, which would have been enough to win the job outright.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

"Those less affluent children are prioritised for 22.5 hours because that is going to ensure they are not on the backfoot as they enter into primary school."

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

It was peopled by letter carriers, firemen and those store owners who were affluent enough not to have to live in the rooms in back of the store.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

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 chief game of the area was the antelope herds which were found on affluents of the Green River, northeast of Kemmerer.

From Shoshone-Bannock Subsistence and Society by Robert F. Murphy

The Amazonian affluents are mostly navigable from the main river to the foot of these cascades.

From South America and the War by F. A. (Frederick Alexander) Kirkpatrick

From the north three great glacier-bred affluents make their way to the river of Gilgit, joining it at almost equal intervals, and each of them affords opportunity for a rough passage northwards.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 1 "Gichtel, Johann" to "Glory" by Various

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 Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome) Freeman

Related Words

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