atmospherics
Americannoun
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(used with a plural verb) noise in a radio receiver or randomly distributed white spots or bands on the screen of a television receiver, caused by interference from natural electromagnetic disturbances in the atmosphere.
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(used with a singular verb) the study of such phenomena; sferics.
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(used with a plural verb) mood or atmosphere; ambience.
The atmospherics of the conference were cordial.
plural noun
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electrical disturbances produced in the atmosphere by natural causes such as lightning
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radio interference, heard as crackling or hissing in receivers, caused by electrical disturbance
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Electromagnetic radiation that is in the same range as radio frequencies and is produced by natural phenomena (such as lightning) and interferes with radio communications.
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The radio interference produced by this electromagnetic radiation.
Etymology
Origin of atmospherics
First recorded in 1900–05; see origin at atmospheric, -ics
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.
Expectations are low for the summit, which will likely include plenty of feel-good atmospherics and possibly some pledges by China to purchase more American products, but not a lot more.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
I’m sure that there are people who have various kinds of apprehensions, whether it’s for individual safety or for the kinds of atmospherics that we’ve been talking about.
From Slate • Jul. 3, 2025
"The atmospherics are very good, showing the danger my father and others were in."
From BBC • Jan. 25, 2025
The visuals are stripped-down and the staging unconventional; instead of indulging the giddy melodrama of young love, the emphasis is on brooding atmospherics.
From New York Times • May 24, 2024
So the Henry Hudson Hotel made sense, and it had the right atmospherics.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
