Meaning & use
rivulet
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Meanings
nouncountable
A very small stream of water, especially one flowing over the ground or down a slope.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a rivulet, rivulets, or rivulets of something.
Patterns
- a rivulet of water
- rivulets of sweat
- a narrow rivulet
After the storm, a clear rivulet ran down the middle of the lane.
We followed a narrow rivulet until it joined the river.
Rivulets of rainwater slid down the window.
nouncountablefigurative
A thin moving line of liquid or of something that flows like liquid.
Grammar: Often used in the pattern rivulets of + liquid, especially in descriptive writing.
Patterns
- rivulets of sweat
- rivulets of blood
- rivulets of rain
Rivulets of sweat ran down his face as he worked.
Rivulets of melted wax had hardened on the table.
Word forms
| plural | rivulets |
|---|
Common combinations
- a narrow rivulet
- A narrow rivulet cut through the meadow.
- a rivulet of water
- A rivulet of water trickled past our feet.
- rivulets of sweat
- Rivulets of sweat ran down her back.
- a small rivulet
- The path crossed a small rivulet near the fence.
- flow in rivulets
- Meltwater flowed in rivulets down the hillside.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stream
- More general and much more common; it can be any size, while a rivulet is always tiny.
- brook
- A small natural stream, usually bigger than a rivulet and often used in place names.
- trickle
- Emphasizes a very slow, thin flow rather than the channel itself.
- runlet
- An old-fashioned word with almost the same meaning; rivulet is the safer choice today.
Opposites
Word family
- river noun
- A large natural flow of water, the opposite end of the scale from a rivulet.
Commonly confused: rivulet or river? rivulet or rivet?
rivulet vs river
A river is large and usually named; a rivulet is a tiny stream you could step across.
rivulet vs rivet
A rivet is a metal pin used to join materials; it sounds similar but has nothing to do with water.
Practice
Which sentence uses "rivulet" most naturally?
Choose one answer.
"Rivulet" means a very small stream or thin flow, so sweat running down a face fits well. The other options describe something large or wide, which contradicts the word's small size.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rivulet”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.