rivulet
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of rivulet
1580–90; earlier rivolet < Italian rivoletto, diminutive of rivolo < Latin rīvulus small stream
Explanation
A rivulet is a small stream. A rivulet is to a river as a baby is to an adult. There are several ways to remember this word. One is the similarity of its sound to "river." Another is the suffix -let, which indicates small things. For example, a piglet is a small pig or baby pig. A 300-pound pig probably wouldn't drown in a tiny rivulet, but a piglet should stay clear. Another word for rivulet is streamlet.
Vocabulary lists containing rivulet
"The Ravine," Vocabulary from the short story
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Hatchet
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Touching Spirit Bear
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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.
Drying vents affixed to massive undulating columns blast air until every rivulet of water disappears.
From Salon • Jul. 21, 2024
Pierce the delicate noodles with fork or teeth and the prize is a warm rivulet of pureed corn, butter and fresh thyme: a rush of summer that lingers on the tongue.
From Washington Post • Sep. 26, 2019
Menashe’s hummus is magnificent, a ring of silky, airy purée surrounding a big spoonful of chunkier, denser stuff; a green rivulet of olive oil; smears of spicy, smoky harissa and green puréed herbs.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2018
He returns home, triangle cap atop his mop of raven hair, an elegant scar running down the side of his face, looking as if he had cried a rivulet of chocolate milk.
From Slate • Jun. 18, 2015
We came to a rickety wooden bridge—just thick plywood laid over a concrete foundation—over Culver Creek, the winding rivulet that doubled back over and over again through the outskirts of campus.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
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.
