ambience

/ˈɑmbiɑns/

/ˈæmbiɪns/

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."

Definitions of ambience

1. noun

   the atmosphere of an environment
   synonyms: ambiance

   type of:

   environment, environs, surround, surroundings

   the area in which something exists or lives
2. noun

   a particular environment or surrounding influence
   synonyms: ambiance, atmosphere

   types:

   genius loci

   the special atmosphere of a place

   gloom, gloominess, glumness

   an atmosphere of depression and melancholy

   miasm, miasma

   an unwholesome atmosphere

   feel, feeling, flavor, flavour, look, smell, spirit, tone

   the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

   cloud

   a cause of worry or gloom or trouble

   bareness, bleakness, desolation, nakedness

   a bleak and desolate atmosphere

   Hollywood

   a flashy vulgar tone or atmosphere believed to be characteristic of the American film industry

   Zeitgeist

   the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation

   type of:

   condition, status

   a state at a particular time