confluent

1 of 2

adjective

con·​flu·​ent ˈkän-ˌflü-ənt 

kən-ˈflü-

: marked by or exhibiting confluence: such as

a

: flowing or coming together

confluent streams/rivers

You can hear the sound from the beach at a distance, before you see the people. It is that most extraordinary noise, half-shout, half-song, made by confluent, simultaneously raised human voices, explaining things to each other.

—Lewis Thomas

He fought the swaying, jiggling motion, which was mixed with the warm confluent smells of rubber floor mat and petroleum combustion …

—John Updike

b medical

(1)

of lesions or skin eruptions : having run or grown together and so no longer discrete

The lesions begin as 1 to 3 mm macules that gradually become confluent assuming a reticulated lacelike pattern.

—Pearl E. Grimes

(2)

: characterized by lesions or skin eruptions that have run or grown together

On physical examination, patient A developed confluent urticaria that initially appeared on the thorax …

—Thomas B. Casale et al.

c

cell biology, of a cell culture : covering the culture substrate completely or nearly completely

As the epithelial cell cultures become more confluent, they take on a cobblestone like appearance as the cells pack together.

—Yvonne A. Reid

When a confluent culture of 3T3 cells is wounded, new growth occurs at the wound margins.

—Graham A. Dunn et al.

confluent

2 of 2

noun

: a confluent stream

broadly : tributary

Synonyms

Noun

• affluent
• bayou
• branch
• feeder
• influent
• tributary

Examples of confluent in a Sentence

Noun

several confluents slowly winding their way to the main river

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Those journeys were confluent with growing upheaval at home; the civil rights movement, racial conflict, and growing protests against the Vietnam War had thrust the country into a fractious moment. —BostonGlobe.com, 17 June 2021

Turrell studied perceptual psychology as well as art, which for him seems confluent. —BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2021

The graphics were visual testament to the passage of Black Americans through the trauma of displacement and bondage into the massive and confluent upheavals of the modern world. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 25 Feb. 2021

Noun

Scholars have proposed different culprits, including malignant confluent smallpox whose symptoms include not only the headache, spots, and sores but also the yellowing of the skin. —National Geographic, 19 Nov. 2020

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Latin confluent-, confluens, present participle of confluere to flow together, from com- + fluere to flow — more at fluid

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1525, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1849, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

confluent

adjective

con·​flu·​ent

ˈkän-ˌflü-ənt,

kən-ˈflü-

: flowing or coming together

confluent rivers

Medical Definition

confluent

adjective

con·​flu·​ent ˈkän-ˌflü-ənt, kən-ˈ 

1

: flowing or coming together

also : run together

confluent pustules

2

: characterized by confluent lesions

confluent smallpox

compare discrete