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confluence

confluence

14 7.0
A meeting where people, ideas, or things come together
  • noun
  • /ˈkɒnfluəns/
translation icon : confluencia
  • The festival celebrates the confluence of cultures through music, art, and food.
  • confluence of events
  • confluence of factors
  • confluence of interests

I believe that my whole life has been a confluence of events for this.

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Examples

  • The massive demonstrations in April and May 1989 represented the confluence of student demonstrations and urban protests.

    Academic text (1990)
  • And you had all of this confluence of factors.

  • And again, the confluence of different people from all over the world.

  • What we have today is a confluence of two things.

  • So I want to talk about this confluence of a number of issues.

  • I believe that my whole life has been a confluence of events for this.

  • And so maybe we actually have this confluence of issues in our country where we have a very real mental health disaster and emergency.

  • The unique character of my cheese would result from a confluence of many elements.

  • So this confluence of things is really affecting the psyche of the consumer and their attitude about spending.

  • Thus, the confluence of race and SES discussed earlier compounds efforts to understand and address inequitable student outcomes.

    Academic text (2013)

Synonyms

coming together
vsconfluence
74 3.5

A time when people or groups join to work together

is focused on joining at a single point rather than just gathering
meeting
vsconfluence
73 1.0

The joining of two things to become one, like rivers or ideas

is the general joining process occurring at one point
consolidation
vsconfluence
43 5.5

To join several groups or parts together to make one stronger unit

is the plain joining action, not necessarily about increased effectiveness
intersection
vsconfluence
42 3.2

A point where different things or ideas meet

is broader, covering full joining not only crossing areas
unification
vsconfluence
31 4.3

A process that brings separate people or groups together to form one unit

is a general coming together and may not imply formal unity
overlap
vsconfluence
30 3.9

A situation where two things share something or happen together

is a fuller joining at one point rather than partial shared area
convergence
vsconfluence
21 6.5

Different ideas, methods, or technologies coming together and becoming more similar

is about joining at one point rather than gradual similarity
aggregation
vsconfluence
11 6.1

A group of things joined together as one whole

is about meeting at a point rather than mere collection
amalgamation
vsconfluence
  • Formal
6 7.5

A joining of two or more groups into one

is broader, covering any things coming together not only organizations
uniting
vsconfluence
3 3.5

The joining of separate people, groups, or companies into one

describes the meeting action specifically at a single point
coalescence
vsconfluence
1 7.8

The joining of separate parts to form one whole

highlights joining at a point rather than just forming one whole
agglomeration
vsconfluence
1 8.6

A group of things or people gathered together

focuses on the joining event rather than the resulting mass
conflux
vsconfluence
1 9.0

A place where rivers, ideas, or cultures come together

focuses on the same joining action at one specific point
merging
vsconfluence
1 3.0

The act of joining two or more things into one

emphasizes meeting at a point rather than the resulting single entity
convergency
vsconfluence
  • Specialized
7.8

A process where things from different directions come closer together

stresses a single joining event rather than directional movement
coalescency
vsconfluence
9.9

Different parts join to form one whole

focuses on the act of meeting at one point rather than formation details
4.6

Mixing ideas from different people or fields to make new solutions

is the simple physical or conceptual joining rather than idea exchange
compenetration
vsconfluence
  • Specialized
9.9

Deep joining of two or more things so they mix but keep their own form

is about joining at one point without strong mutual permeation
combining
vsconfluence
2.4

Joining two or more things to make one

is specifically about arriving and joining at a single point

Antonyms

89 2.6

The process of moving apart or staying apart

2 6.7

A movement away from a common point, like rivers branching from a main channel

How United

fusion
33 4.1
merger
189 3.9
confluence
14 7.0
assembly
  • Specialized
10 3.5
meeting
1.0

Surface Forms

confluence singular
confluences plural

Morphology

confluence = confluent (semi-transparent) = con + flu + ence

The abstract sense 'coming together' extends directly from the literal 'flows joining', but the Latinate morphology may not be fully intuitive to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Confluence comes from the Latin parts con- 'together' and fluere 'to flow', like in the simple English word flow. That's why we call a meeting of people or ideas a confluence — it is when things 'flow together' and join at one point.