Affluenza
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A feeling of dissatisfaction, anxiety, etc., caused by the dogged and ongoing pursuit of more goods and possessions. uncountable, usually
"The tension heightens when speaking about "affluenza" from within the economic cultures of Western countries and in particular our North American society. We do live quite privileged lives. Our privileges have clearly become expectations. […] Affluenza has been defined as a cultural disease of excess—an excess that seldom satiates the desire for more. The virus is identified by its symptoms: the feverish pursuit of products, possessions, and privileged passions, which might be outpaced only by a market-driven economy, ravenous consumption, an increasing anxiety over exponential debt, and the yield of excessive waste. Affluenza has also been more personally identified by unmanageable stress and pervasive feelings of emptiness."
- 2 an inability to understand the consequences of one's actions because of financial privilege wordnet
Example
More examples"The case made national news when a defense expert said that his wealthy parents treated him too softly, which ingrained a sense of irresponsibility, or what he termed “affluenza.”"
Etymology
Blend of affluence + influenza.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.