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:
Sports enthusiasts have their own dedicated amenity in the form of a clay tennis court, which is accompanied by an entertainment pavilion.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
"Then a lifetime of pylons impacting on their environment, agriculture, tourism, property values, physical and visual amenity to name a few," she added.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
It’s an unexpected amenity in a part of the city that seems otherwise hostile to pedestrians and cyclists, but one Papas wants incorporated around more of Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Working with her sister, Venus, who owns an interior design firm, Williams turned the property into her dream dwelling, complete with every luxurious amenity imaginable, including—of course—a private trophy room.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026
The unit’s only amenity was the entertainment console—a large, flat touchscreen built into the wall.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
The residence boasts four bedrooms and four bathrooms, along with an impressive collection of outdoor amenities designed to take advantage of the Southern California climate.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
An online listing for the condo building boasts a menu of luxury amenities, including a gym, rooftop pool and pet spa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Rooms start at around $1,065 a night, and it has a kids’ club packed with amenities, including a ropes course.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The basement is filled with amenities, including a home theater and gym.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
The humanities and amenities of life had no attraction for him—its peaceful enjoyments no charm.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
