atmosphere
Other forms: atmospheres
An atmosphere is a surrounding environment or influence. If you and your coworkers talk behind each other's backs, you will create a nasty atmosphere at work.
Atmosphere was coined by 17th-century scientists combining the Greek words for vapor, atmos, and sphere, sphaira. The earth's atmosphere is the air and gas surrounding our planet. Atmosphere also describes the feeling of a place. A coffee shop might have a cool, artsy atmosphere. Some plants grow best in a damp atmosphere. In physics, atmosphere is a unit of pressure equal to the air pressure at sea level.
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the envelope of gases surrounding any celestial bodytypes:skythe atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earthmackerel skya sky filled with rows of cirrocumulus or small altocumulus cloudstype of:gasa fluid in the gaseous state having neither independent shape nor volume and being able to expand indefinitely
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the mass of air surrounding the Earth
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the weather or climate at some place“the atmosphere was thick with fog”synonyms: atmospheric statetypes:air massa large body of air with uniform characteristics horizontallyanticyclone(meteorology) winds spiraling outward from a high pressure center; circling clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southerncyclone(meteorology) rapid inward circulation of air masses about a low pressure center; circling counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southernfog, fogginess, murk, murkinessan atmosphere in which visibility is reduced because of a cloud of some substancehighan air mass of higher than normal pressurefug(British informal) an airless smoky smelly atmospheretype of:atmospheric condition, conditions, weather, weather conditionthe atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
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a unit of pressure: the pressure that will support a column of mercury 760 mm high at sea level and 0 degrees centigradesynonyms: atm, standard atmosphere, standard pressuretype of:pressure unita unit measuring force per unit area
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a distinctive but intangible quality surrounding a person or thing“an atmosphere of defeat pervaded the candidate's headquarters”
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a particular environment or surrounding influence“there was an atmosphere of excitement”types:genius locithe special atmosphere of a placefeel, feeling, flavor, flavour, look, smell, spirit, tonethe general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on peopleclouda cause of worry or gloom or troubleHollywooda flashy vulgar tone or atmosphere believed to be characteristic of the American film industryZeitgeistthe spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation
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Vocabulary lists containing atmosphere
Planets and their moons have complex relationships as they spin through space around the sun. These words describe their motions and relationships, and will help you understand the gravity of the situation.
Physical geography will be a breeze once you master this list of terms related to Earth's physical features. You'll review climate and weather, landforms and bodies of water, biomes and ecosystems, and the geological structure of the Earth — and that's just the tip of the iceberg!
If you've got your head in the clouds, this list of words related to weather and climate will be like a ray of sunshine. Review forms of precipitation, temperature, climate change, and more. You don't need to be a meteorologist to know that the forecast calls for vocabulary!