affluence

noun

af·​flu·​ence ˈa-(ˌ)flü-ən(t)s 

also

a-ˈflü- 

 or  ə-

1

a

: abundance of property : wealth

rose from poverty to affluence

b

: an abundant flow or supply : profusion

… to attain that breadth and height, that wealth of muscle, that affluence of flesh.

—Charlotte Brontë

2

: a flowing to or toward a point : influx

Did you know?

What is the origin of affluence?

Affluence comes from the Latin verb affluere, "to flow abundantly". Thus, someone or something blessed with affluence has received an incoming flood of riches. Since the affluent residents of suburbs often work in the central city but pay taxes back home, the wealth of some metropolitan areas tends to flow in one direction—out.

Synonyms

• flux
• income
• inflow
• influx
• inpouring
• inrush

Examples of affluence in a Sentence

this affluence of new students is straining an already crowded school system

Recent Examples on the Web

Poverty does not always dehumanize, and relative affluence can have its costs in human terms -- costs that are actually, if often dimly, felt. —Irving Kristol, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2011

In the wake of COVID-19, the surrounding aesthetics of outdoor recreation are reframed as a luxury where access is mediated by what can be purchased—gear, travel, time—or signaled, through a kind of cultural literacy tied to competency and affluence. —Essence, 25 Nov. 2024

Being online all the time, once a mark of affluence, is increasingly its opposite. —Kim Velsey, Curbed, 25 Oct. 2024

North of us, Palm Beach is a kind of Disney World of American affluence, and the Morikami museum and gardens is a beautiful, and unexpected, pocket of Japan. —Greg Carannante, Sun Sentinel, 2 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, "abundance, profusion," borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin affluentia, noun derivative of affluent-, affluens affluent entry 1 — more at -ence

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Kids Definition

affluence

noun

af·​flu·​ence ˈaf-ˌlü-ən(t)s 

also

a-ˈflü- 

ə-ˈflü-

: the state of having much wealth or property