matinee
noun
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Soiree: A Fancy Evening Party
In English, soiree means “a fancy evening affair.” The word comes directly from French and was formed from the word soir, meaning “evening” or “night.” The French make a subtle distinction between soir, which refers explicitly to the time of day following sunset, and soirée, which refers to some duration of time, usually translated as “evening.” English speakers don’t use different words, but we understand the difference between “I’ll see you tomorrow evening” and “We spent the evening playing cards”—one refers to a time of day and one refers to the passage of time. From the idea of a period of time evolved the second meaning of soirée: a party that takes place during the evening. As is typical for words that have been borrowed from modern French, soiree in English signifies the fancy version of a simple “party”: an evening event that is formal or refined in some way.
A third sense of soirée in French, “an evening performance,” has a parallel with matinée, from matin “morning. ” Matinée literally means “morning performance” in French but has come to mean “daytime or afternoon performance” in English. The “evening performance” meaning of soirée has not been adopted by English. Our Unabridged of 1934, however, did record both a verb soiree (meaning, presumably, “to hold or attend an evening party”) and the variant swarry, “so spelled in mimicry of mispronunciation.”
Soiree can be spelled in English using the acute accent as soirée, but is usually spelled without it.
Examples of matinee in a Sentence
Jared Kaufman, Twin Cities, 27 Nov. 2025
The same goes for matinees, which are often less crowded and can be especially appealing for families, first-time visitors or anyone who prefers a daytime show.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 27 Nov. 2025
Those fans of the Elite Squad action films from the 2000s and Netflix’s Narcos, the ones who were early advocates for Moura’s moody, matinee-idol charisma, have felt justified in seeing the actor get meatier parts in films like last year’s Civil War and a co-lead in Apple TV’s Dope Thief.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 26 Nov. 2025
The partnership will support exhibitions, film programming such as family matinees, education initiatives including the Teen Council – designed to inspire young artists and open pathways for diverse communities to engage with film, as well as preservation efforts of the Academy Collection.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 24 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for matinee
Cite this Entry
“Matinee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/matinee. Accessed 30 Nov. 2025.
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matinee
noun
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