ambient

1 of 2

adjective

am·bi·ent ˈam-bē-ənt

Synonyms of ambient next

: existing or present on all sides : encompassing

the ambient air temperature

ambient light

ambient sound

: of or relating to ambient music (see ambient entry 2 sense 2)

ambient

2 of 2

noun

: an encompassing atmosphere : environment

: music intended to serve as an unobtrusive accompaniment to other activities (as in a public place) and characterized especially by quiet and repetitive instrumental melodies

Did you know?

Biologists explore the effects of ambient light on plants; acoustics experts try to control ambient sound; and meteorologists study ambient pressure, air, or temperature. All this can make ambient seem like a technical term, but when it first saw light of day, that all-encompassing adjective was as likely to be used in poetry as in science. John Milton used it in Paradise Lost, and Alexander Pope wrote of a mountain "whose tow'ring summit ambient clouds conceal'd." Both poets and scientists who use ambient owe a debt to the Latin verb ambire, meaning "to go around," the grandparent of our English word.

Examples of ambient in a Sentence

Adjective Keep the chemicals at an ambient temperature of 70°F. the bright ambient light of the room People shopped as ambient music played in the background. Noun observing how the survival techniques of primates vary with the ambient

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The dissociation and the ambient loneliness of the Internet seemed far away. —

Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023 Some recipes may take longer depending on the ingredients, or even your ambient kitchen environment. —

Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 25 Sep. 2023 Skip the pot lights and focus on task, decorative, and ambient lighting for a moody effect: Go for simple neon signs or dark lampshades for a more low-key feel. —

Sharon Greenthal, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Sep. 2023 The ambient banter picked up on Berlin’s tape would be nearly as valuable to future archivists as the songs that were recorded. —

Will Hermes, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2023 Previously, the ambient art feature was only available on Fire TVs. —

Wes Davis, The Verge, 21 Sep. 2023 Gomez-Weaver has also found a strong association between Valley fever incidence and ambient dust, indicating that spores become suspended in the air and linger there much like other atmospheric particulates. —

Ashli Blow, Scientific American, 19 Sep. 2023 The camera also saves some extra info that others don't, including ambient temperature, altitude, and barometric pressure, even when the Log function is off. —

PCMAG, 13 Sep. 2023 Blake’s intricate textures on Playing Robots Into Heaven morph between techno, ambient, and subtle jungle rhythms—all of which converge for some of his most exciting work to date. —

Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 8 Sep. 2023

Noun

As a tracking line moves downward across the image, additional background galaxies and stars are punctuated as different glass marimba notes alongside a host of other ambient, representational tones. —

Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 21 June 2023 In some cases, the ambient sounds in a person’s life can contribute to chronic stress. —

Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 6 Apr. 2023 Sound machines help mask ambient noise so you won't be startled awake by something abrupt, like a car alarm going off or a door slamming. —

Jessica Hartshorn, Good Housekeeping, 27 Mar. 2023 And a little bit of Vibey chill ambient. —

Liza Lentini, SPIN, 24 Feb. 2023 But in this case, not being able to hear the details very well made the push-pull of modulating meters and tempos a physical sensation that overpowered the aural one, like runners more attuned to their heartbeats than the ambient sounds around them (other than maybe rhythmic cheering). —

Los Angeles Times, 9 Nov. 2021 Ten miles later, the next hot box detected that the bearing had reached 103 degrees above ambient. —

Gabe Cohen, CNN, 25 Feb. 2023 Class and sectarian tensions—some ambient, some verging on explicit—ripple through every description and bit of dialogue in the scene. —

Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 6 Dec. 2022 Sony also offers great noise cancellation to silence the pesky ambient sounds around you. —

Louryn Strampe gear Team, WIRED, 19 Nov. 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ambient.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from Latin ambient-, ambiens, present participle of ambiō, ambīre "to visit in rotation, solicit (political support), seek to obtain, surround, encircle, embrace," from amb- "around, on both sides" + eō, īre "to go"; amb- going back to Indo-European *h₂m̥b^hi "around," whence also Germanic *umbi- (whence Old English ymbe "around, about," Old Frisian umbe, Old Saxon & Old High German umbi "around, about, concerning," Old Icelandic um, umb "around, about, beyond, over"), Gaulish ambi- "around (in names)," Old Irish imb, imm "around, about," Welsh & Breton am, Greek amphí "about, on both sides of," Armenian amb- (in ambołǰ "whole, intact"), Old Avestan aibī "for," Old Persian abiy "to, toward," Sanskrit abhí — more at issue entry 1

Note: The Latin prefix amb- is peculiar in that the expected linking vowel -i- never occurs; before consonants it syncopates, with consequent assimilation: -b- drops, and -m- becomes -n- before non-labial sounds (see amplexus, amputate, ancilla, anfractuous). Indo-European *h₂m̥b^hi may have developed from *h²n̥t-b^hi, a frozen instrumental plural form of the noun *h²ent- "front, face" (see ante-). The same noun figures in *h₂(e)nt-b^hoh₁ "both" (see ambi-).