effluent — English Dictionary

Adjective

1. Flowing out; outflowing.

   Usage

   • not-comparable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   But while the effluent beams of the sun, and their quickening power in the natural sphere, furnish a good illustration of my idea of the Holy Spirit, I may, perhaps, illustrate the idea still better by a reference to human thoughts and affections […]

Noun

1. A stream that flows out, such as from a lake or reservoir; an outflow; effluence.

   Usage

   • Countable

   Examples

   The landscape was dotted with reservoirs and many many effluent streams.

2. Sewage or waste water discharged into a natural body of water.

   Usage

   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   discharge

   Examples

   Residents have little control over the industrial effluent that pollutes their rivers.

   More examples (2)

   Still remarkably clean, Baikal nevertheless feels the effects of air and water pollution from various sources, including industries around Irkutsk and from the Selenga river, which provides half the water flowing into Baikal. Most controversy centers on the effluent from a cellulose plant at Baikalsk.

   One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.

Adjective

1. that is flowing outward

   Synonyms

   outflowing

Noun

1. water mixed with waste matter

   Synonyms

   wastewatersewer water

   Broader terms

   wastewaste materialwaste matterwaste product