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confluence

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confluence

  • /ˈkɒn.flu.əns/ UK
  • /ˈkɑnˌflu.əns/ Atlantic Canada, US
  • /kənˈflu.əns/ Atlantic Canada, US
  • /ˈkɒn.flu.əns/ Canada, dialectal

Rhymes with -ɒnfluəns, -uːəns

Where it comes from

From late Middle English confluence, from Late Latin cōnfluentia (“a flowing together, conflux”), from cōnfluēns (present participle of cōnfluō (“to flow or run together”)) + -ia (nominal suffix).

noun confluences · confluency

  1. The act of combining that occurs where two rivers meet. The confluence of the rivers produced a great rush of water.
  2. The place where two rivers, streams, or other continuously flowing bodies of water meet and become one, especially where a tributary joins a river. We encountered an abandoned boat at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.

    Similar: watersmeet · Opposite: fork, branch

  3. The stream or body formed by the junction of two or more streams; a combined flood.
  4. A convergence or combination of forces, people, or things. The confluence of our skills resulted in a successful home renovation project.

    Similar: coinfluence

  5. The proportion of cells, in a culture medium, that adhere to each other.
  6. in rewriting systems A property describing which terms can be rewritten with other, equivalent terms.

Similar: conflux

verb confluences · confluencing · confluenced · confluency

  1. intransitive, transitive To join together into one stream. CHN 082 flows for approximately 304.8 meters (1,000 feet) before confluencing with the North Bald Eagle Creek.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: conflux, concourse, merging, junction, meeting, downstream, ground, crossroads, intersection, cross, rallying, converge, converging, combination, convergence, conjunction

noun

Similar: conflux

Translations

Every language

noun point where two rivers or streams meet

Españolconfluencia
日本語合流点 gōryūten
Portuguêsconfluência
Françaisconfluent, confluence
DeutschZusammenfluss
Românăconfluență
Русскийслия́ние slijánije
עבריתמפגש נהרות mifgash neharot

noun convergence or combination

Portuguêsconfluência
Françaisconfluent, convergence
Русскийстече́ние stečénije, комбинация kombinacija

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Cite this
MLA

"confluence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/confluence. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

confluence. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/confluence

Chicago

"confluence." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/confluence.

BibTeX
@misc{confluence_2026,
  title = {confluence},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/confluence},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}