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

"There's a wide inequity between women in more affluent areas and women in poorer areas."

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Assignments didn’t go unread, unassessed or ungraded because affluent children attended elsewhere.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 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

Houston's historic Old Braeswood neighbourhood is affluent and tree-lined.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

They withdraw from mixed neighborhoods into distant suburbs, gated communities, or guarded apartment towers; they shop in stores that, in line with the prevailing “market segmentation,” are designed to appeal to the affluent alone.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

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

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

It is computed by good authority that this river, with its numerous affluents, forms a system of navigable water twenty-four thousand miles in length!

From Equatorial America Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes, and the Principal Capitals of South America by Maturin Murray Ballou

Of its numerous affluents the most important is the Sil, which rises among the lofty mountains between Leon and Asturias.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various

This stream waters the country of the mines, and interlocks, by its affluents, with the Gasconade on the west, and the St. Francis on the south.

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

Related Words

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