amenity
Americannoun
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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:
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
A row of seats turns into the economy version of a lie-flat bed, except with stuffies for kids instead of fancy amenity kits with designer skin care.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 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
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
And 10 days earlier, the program moved into its new, state-of-the-art football facility, with all the amenities anyone could ask for.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
All units and amenities are expected to be finished in early 2027.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Students get access to the amenities at St. Camillus, which include a gym, swimming pool, movie theater, restaurants and lounges, and a pub.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Deep-pocketed buyers are increasingly snapping up neighboring properties to create private compounds, with amenities from parking to padel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
“It’s just nice to come home after being around kids all day and have amenities like that,” she said.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
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.
