confluence
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A place where things merge or flow together.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kahnfloouhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɑnfluəns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A place where things merge or flow together (especially rivers)
“Pittsburgh is located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.”
The place where two rivers, streams, or other continuously flowing bodies of water meet and become one, especially where a tributary joins a river.
The act of combining that occurs where two rivers meet.
The stream or body formed by the junction of two or more streams; a combined flood.
A convergence or combination of forces, people, or things.
verb
intransitivetransitive
To join together into one stream.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced (estimated)
- Frequency
- Uncommon
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A place where things merge or flow together (especially rivers)
Used this way, confluence is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Pittsburgh is located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “confluence of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Nearby words
- conflux , rarer, so it draws attention
Natural pattern: confluence of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use confluence
- “Pittsburgh is located at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: place where things merge
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.