ambience
Americannoun
plural
ambiencesnoun
Etymology
Origin of ambience
First recorded in 1885–90
Explanation
Ambience is another word for atmosphere in the sense of the mood a place or setting has. If an expensive restaurant has soft lighting and peaceful music, it has a pleasant, soothing ambience. Ambience is one of those words that we've out and out stolen from French. In French, the word meaning the same thing is, you guessed it, ambience. This is a word you're going to want to know if you have any interest in restaurant reviews — they always want to talk about the ambience. As a funny quirk, the word has a positive feel to it; it can be used to mean nice atmosphere without even using the word, nice, as in, "Hey, this place really has ambience."
Vocabulary lists containing ambience
"They Speak for Success" and "Breaking the Ice"
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"First Love Language" by Stefany Valentine, Broken Hearts and Broken Homes–A Different Love Language
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Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With the aid of Sara Gettelfinger’s choreography, the five subordinate characters jelled as an ensemble, supplying ambience and making up for the missing chorus.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
That charged ambience has taken on new meaning after Ghana's famed Highlife music was inscribed recently on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, a major international recognition of one of west Africa's most influential musical traditions.
From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026
Fortunately, she doesn’t have to get her hands dirty or even leave the couch to light up the ambience.
From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025
They have a few really nice spots where you can chill out near the waterfall, so I’m probably just sitting, maybe journaling, kind of enjoying the ambience.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025
Her father-in-law’s intention, she supposed, was to create an ambience of solidity and family tradition.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
