Affluent — A Vocabulary Story
The Lost Locket of Leeds Castle
Nushi pressed her nose against the glass case in Kent's Leeds Castle, studying a silver locket that once belonged to Lady Eleanor, an affluent noblewoman from the fourteenth century.
Affluent means having a great deal of money. It also means wealthy.
"It's missing," whispered Ming, the junior curator, hurrying over with a clipboard. "Someone swapped it for a copy this morning."
Nushi, who was visiting from Shanghai with her mother, had been sketching the locket only an hour before. She knew every curl of its engraving.
"The thief must be someone who looks like they belong here," Nushi murmured. "Someone affluent enough not to raise suspicion."
Ming raised an eyebrow. Nushi pointed towards a tour group near the drawbridge. A man in a tailored coat stood slightly apart, checking his watch too often. He carried himself with the easy confidence of the affluent visitors who often donated to the castle.
"He paid in cash," Ming recalled, "which is unusual for our affluent patrons. They usually use cards."
They followed quietly. The man paused by the moat, slipping something small into a hollow beneath a stone bench. Ming signalled a guard.
When they retrieved it, the genuine locket gleamed in Nushi's palm. The thief, it turned out, wasn't truly affluent at all, only pretending, hoping to sell the treasure to a genuinely affluent collector overseas.
Ming smiled. "You'd make a fine detective."
Word Definition
affluent
meaning
having a great deal of money; wealthy
synonyms
moneyed · prosperous · flush · upscale · opulent
antonyms
poor · needy · destitute
example sentence
The affluent family donated millions to charity.