confluence
/ˈkɑnˌflu.əns/noun, verb
confluence is spelled C-O-N-F-L-U-E-N-C-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, confluence means “The act of combining that occurs where two rivers meet” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of confluence is confluences.
How many letters and syllables are in confluence?
| Letters | 10: C-O-N-F-L-U-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,745th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is confluence?
Confluence appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,745th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce confluence?
- UK /ˈkɒn.flu.əns/
- US /ˈkɑnˌflu.əns/
- US /kənˈflu.əns/
Confluence has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-confluence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of confluence
- confluences plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- confluency
- confluencing participle, present
- confluenced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does confluence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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.
- 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.
- 5
The proportion of cells, in a culture medium, that adhere to each other.
- 6
A property describing which terms can be rewritten with other, equivalent terms.
verb
- 1
To join together into one stream.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Confluence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | confluent, confluence , convergence |
| German | Zusammenfluss |
| Portuguese | confluência |
| Spanish | confluencia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does confluence come 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).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).