audience

[aw-dee-uh ns]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR audience ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the group of spectators at a public event; listeners or viewers collectively, as in attendance at a theater or concert: The audience was respectful of the speaker's opinion.

the persons reached by a book, radio or television broadcast, etc.; public: Some works of music have a wide and varied audience.

a regular public that manifests interest, support, enthusiasm, or the like; a following: Every art form has its audience.

opportunity to be heard; chance to speak to or before a person or group; a hearing.

a formal interview with a sovereign, high officer of government, or other high-ranking person: an audience with the pope.

the act of hearing, or attending to, words or sounds.

Origin of audience

1325–75; Middle English < Middle French < Latin audientia act of listening, group of listeners, equivalent to audient-, stem of audiēns, present participle of audīre to hear + -ia -ia; see -ence

Related formspro·au·di·ence, adjective

Usage note

See collective noun.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for audiences

gathering, crowd, gallery, congregation, public, market, assembly, house, following, turnout, assemblage, admirers, hearers, theatergoers, playgoers, conference, audition, discussion, conversation, consultation

Examples from the Web for audiences

Contemporary Examples of audiences

Was the blackface scene with Gene Wilder in Silver Streak an important step in how American audiences view minstrelsy?
How Richard Pryor Beat Bill Cosby and Transformed America
David Yaffe, Scott Saul
December 10, 2014
The original French title, Bande de Filles (girl gang) was translated to Girlhood in order to appeal more to American audiences.
‘Girlhood’: Coming of Age in France’s Projects
Molly Hannon
November 25, 2014
These are the same Taliban fighters known to U.S. audiences from the documentary Restrepo and the film Lone Survivor.
Heart of Darkness: Into Afghanistan’s Taliban Valley
Matt Trevithick, Daniel Seckman
November 15, 2014
By Rich Goldstein Are audiences tired with caped crusaders and gritty reboots?
7 Must-Read Stories about Tim Cook, Amelia Earheart and Slut-o-Ween: The Best of The Beast
William Boot
November 1, 2014
Are audiences tired with caped crusaders and gritty reboots?
Marvel and DC Plan 20 Movies for the Next Six Years: Will the Comic Book Movie Bubble Burst?
Rich Goldstein
October 29, 2014

Historical Examples of audiences

We hear of no more disturbances; the fact was that the audiences were too thin to be noisy.
Handel
Edward J. Dent
Their audiences were no better, and therefore were satisfied with what they brought.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 57, No. 352, February 1845
Various
It is one of the penalties of Protestantism that the audiences, after a while, outgrow the preacher.
The American Mind
Bliss Perry
"Audiences don't think—at least, not in England," said Bennett.
A Day with Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
George Sampson
It had, he felt, made a difference, not only in the size but the responsiveness of his audiences.
The Prisoner
Alice Brown

British Dictionary definitions for audiences

audience

noun

a group of spectators or listeners, esp at a public event such as a concert or play

the people reached by a book, film, or radio or television programme

the devotees or followers of a public entertainer, lecturer, etc; regular public

an opportunity to put one's point of view, such as a formal interview with a monarch or head of state

Word Origin for audience

C14: from Old French, from Latin audientia a hearing, from audīre to hear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for audiences

audience

late 14c., "the action of hearing," from Old French audience, from Latin audentia "a hearing, listening," from audientum (nominative audiens), present participle of audire "to hear," from PIE compound *au-dh- "to perceive physically, grasp," from root *au- "to perceive" (cf. Greek aisthanesthai "to feel;" Sanskrit avih, Avestan avish "openly, evidently;" Old Church Slavonic javiti "to reveal"). Meaning "formal hearing or reception" is from late 14c.; that of "persons within hearing range, assembly of listeners" is from early 15c. (French audience retains only the older senses). Sense transferred 1855 to "readers of a book." Audience-participation (adj.) first recorded 1940.