Definition of MILIEU

Choose the Right Synonym for milieu

background, setting, environment, milieu, mise-en-scène mean the place, time, and circumstances in which something occurs. background often refers to the circumstances or events that precede a phenomenon or development. the shocking decision was part of the background of the riots setting suggests looking at real-life situations in literary or dramatic terms. a militant reformer who was born into an unlikely social setting environment applies to all the external factors that have a formative influence on one's physical, mental, or moral development. the kind of environment that produces juvenile delinquents milieu applies especially to the physical and social surroundings of a person or group of persons. an intellectual milieu conducive to artistic experimentation mise-en-scène strongly suggests the use of properties to achieve a particular atmosphere or theatrical effect. a gothic thriller with a carefully crafted mise-en-scène

Milieu Entered English in the 1800s

The etymology of milieu comes down to "mi" and "lieu." English speakers learned the word (and borrowed both its spelling and meaning) from French. The modern French term comes from two much older French forms, mi, meaning "middle," and lieu, meaning "place." Like so many terms in the Romance languages, those Old French forms can ultimately be traced to Latin; "mi" is an offspring of the Latin medius(meaning "middle") and "lieu" is a derivative of "locus" (meaning "place"). English speakers have used "milieu" for the environment or setting of something since at least the mid-1800s, but other "lieu" descendants are much older. We've used both "lieu" itself (meaning "place" or "stead," as in "in lieu of") and "lieutenant" since the 14th century.

Examples of milieu in a Sentence

Theirs was a bohemian milieu in which people often played romantic musical chairs. — Edmund White, New York Review of Books, 12 Feb. 2009 People in France admire the United States, and much of what passes for anti-Americanism is limited to the intellectual milieu of Paris. — Jonathan Alter et al., Newsweek, 29 May 2000 She might stay home, might marry and live as a housewife. And if her milieu does not sanction such a solution, there are, she knows, milieux which do. — David Mamet, Jafsie and John Henry: Essays, 1999 Certainly there are very few American milieus today in which having read the latest work of Joyce Carol Oates or Richard Ford is more valuable, as social currency, than having caught the latest John Travolta movie or knowing how to navigate the Web. — Jonathan Franzen, Harper's, April 1996 They're caught in their own hazy milieu—working, smoking, talking, drinking. — Gerri Hirshey, Rolling Stone, 12 Nov. 1992 young, innovative artists thrive in the freewheeling milieu that a big city offers

Recent Examples on the Web

The aesthetic consistency of the physical milieu — the work of a team led by Todd Rosenthal, who designed the set, and including the puppet designers Blair Thomas, Tom Lee and Chris Wooten — is a highly impressive feat. — Chris Jones, chicagotribune.com, "A real Lookingglass summer adventure in '20,000 Leagues Under the Seas'," 4 June 2018 With Pacific Island objects interspersed among these Gauguin paintings and drawings, visitors are given a taste of his southern milieu. — Judith H. Dobrzynski, WSJ, "‘Gauguin: A Spiritual Journey’ Review: Tracing a Painter’s Soul," 6 Jan. 2019 There was some deal on new memberships, and my entrance into this milieu, procured at a bargain price, exposed me to a host of tastes, smells, and traditions. — Ross Kenneth Urken, Town & Country, "A Love Letter to Pinaud Clubman Talcum Powder," 26 Sep. 2017 Babies obviously can thrive in this milieu or the human species would not exist. — Gretchen Reynolds, The Seattle Times, "Vigorous exercise, even a trek up Everest, may be safe during pregnancy," 26 Oct. 2018 Those nine prints, plus a table of contents, are the centerpiece of this show, which also includes works by Käthe Kollwitz, Max Beckmann and Otto Dix that reflect on Germany’s sociocultural milieu after the Great War. — Anita Gates, New York Times, "From 12th Century B.C. to 2017, Art in Startling Variety," 7 Mar. 2018 Good headphones help to both quiet the outside world and liven up our internal milieu with music. — Vlad Savov, The Verge, "The headphone wars have begun," 3 Oct. 2018 The hesitant, awkward shuffling that once defined his actors’ speech patterns hasn’t necessarily gone away; it’s simply been absorbed into the spirit of the movie, which surveys its milieu and genre with a thoughtful, ambivalent eye. — Justin Chang, The Seattle Times, "‘Support the Girls’: Regina Hall calls the shots in terrific sports-bar comedy," 27 Aug. 2018 The Parrs also cavort amid a very distinctive visual milieu. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "The Incredibles 2 Addresses the State of the Union," 19 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'milieu.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.