environmental
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the totality of things, conditions, influences, cultural forces, etc., that surround and shape the life of a person or a population.
Investigators in the study will examine possible associations between aggressive prostate cancer and exposures to environmental stressors such as discrimination, early-life adversity, and segregation.
-
Ecology. of or relating to all the external conditions, such as air, water, minerals, and other organisms, that surround and affect any given organism, often specifically relating to human interaction with these conditions.
She took 11 lake samples to identify the fish communities present there and the defining environmental factors, like dissolved oxygen, pH, and vegetation.
Agriculture is now a dominant force behind many environmental threats, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and the degradation of land and fresh water.
-
of or being art that surrounds the viewer or involves the viewer’s participation, often on a grand scale and outdoors.
Our programs include an exhibition of global art, public lectures on birds, and a collaborative outdoor installation of environmental art.
Usage
What does environmental mean? Environmental means of or relating to all the things that surround us and influence our lives, as in For some people, environmental stressors included how crowded a room is and how loud the noise is.In ecology, environmental also means of or relating to all external conditions that surround an organism, such as air, water, and minerals. When someone talks about climate change and its environmental impact, they mean that as the average temperature of the Earth changes, it affects the environment, such as through soil erosion, flooding, and more.Less often, environmental describes something that surrounds the viewer or encourages their participation, as with some outdoor art.Example: The environmental damage this project will cause might be unreasonable.
Other Word Forms
- environmentally adverb
- interenvironmental adjective
- nonenvironmental adjective
- nonenvironmentally adverb
- preenvironmental adjective
- proenvironmental adjective
Etymology
Origin of environmental
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It could serve as an alternative to certain synthetic UV filters that raise environmental concerns, helping advance the development of more eco-friendly sunscreens.
From Science Daily
"We reimagined them not as mighty guardians, but as vulnerable creatures whose armor -- their shells and scales -- is under attack by ocean warming, acidification and other ocean environmental changes."
From Science Daily
"Are environmental concerns having an impact on global air traffic growth? I'm not seeing it," he said.
From Barron's
Greenpeace Philippines campaigner Jefferson Chua has warned that even low levels of Caesium-137 exposure carry "long-term cancer risks and can cause lasting environmental contamination".
From Barron's
Data centres are energy hungry, and there are significant concerns about their environmental impact.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
