amenity
Americannoun
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amenities
plural
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an agreeable way or manner; courtesy; civility.
the graceful amenities of society.
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any feature that provides comfort, convenience, or pleasure.
The house has a swimming pool, two fireplaces, and other amenities.
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the quality of being pleasing or agreeable in situation, prospect, disposition, etc.; pleasantness.
the amenity of the Caribbean climate.
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amenities, lavatory; bathroom: used as a euphemism.
noun
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(often plural) a useful or pleasant facility or service
a swimming pool was just one of the amenities
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the fact or condition of being pleasant or agreeable
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(usually plural) a social courtesy or pleasantry
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of amenity
1400–50; late Middle English amenite < Anglo-French < Latin amoenitās, equivalent to amoen ( us ) pleasing + -itās -ity
Explanation
Like built-in GPS, seat warmers and four-wheel drive, an amenity is a feature that contributes to comfort or value. Or in another sense, it's the overall pleasantness that results from all those cool features. Declared the American novelist Edith Wharton, “I despair of the Republic! Such dreariness, such whining sallow women, such utter absence of the amenities, such crass food, crass manners, crass landscape! What a horror it is for a whole nation to be developing without the sense of beauty, and eating bananas for breakfast.” As you can see, people throughout time have gotten cranky when they’ve felt their amenities to be lacking.
Vocabulary lists containing amenity
The Namesake
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ami, amor
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Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet
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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.
See Examples For:
With every new amenity, it’s sending rivals a message: good luck catching up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026
The site still needs to go through the relevant planning stages, and the need for new homes will be balanced "against public amenity", the council added.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
There are classic amenities such as a grill and hot tub, but the biggest amenity is proximity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2025
The amenity fits perfectly with the “cozy vibes” she had always wanted in the dwelling.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 16, 2025
But the biggest amenity of all was the free lunch that almost every saloon offered in order to lure customers and increase the sale of beer.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
If fitness centers, technology services, entertainment options and countless other amenities appear to operate without cost, comprehensive public provision elsewhere may seem practical.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
"Households are more commonly exchanging commuting time for more affordable housing, increased space and access to rural amenities," he said.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
What you get: TSA with no lines and other amenities including massages and being chauffeured to your commercial plane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
“This facility requires minimal work, provides additional amenities for athletes, and accounts for up to $17.6 million in revenue increases and cost savings,” LA28 said when it announced the shift to the Rose Bowl pool.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
She was originally built for vacation cruising and has amenities I think you would enjoy, such as a pool, a formal dining room, a ballroom, and a library.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
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.
