milieu

American  

[mil-yoo, meel-, mee-lyœ] / mɪlˈyʊ, mil-, miˈlyœ /

noun

plural

milieus,

plural

milieux

1. surroundings, especially of a social or cultural nature.

   a snobbish milieu.

   Synonyms:

   setting, sphere, background

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milieu British  

/ miljø, ˈmiːljɜː /

noun

1. surroundings, location, or setting

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Related Words

See environment.

Etymology

Origin of milieu

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French, equivalent to mi (from Latin medius “middle”; medium ) + lieu lieu

Example Sentences

This time, he tantalizes us with the milieu of nightclub self-expression and a group of regular amateurs Alex gets comfortable hanging with.

From Los Angeles Times

Using cryo-EM, researchers from the Laboratory of Molecular Electron Microscopy studied the receptor in a biochemical setting designed to closely resemble its native milieu.

From Science Daily

The book—a masterpiece of the genre—chronicles the circuitous path he took from Brownsville, then a scrappy Jewish neighborhood, to the tony milieu of New York’s literati.

From The Wall Street Journal

The book, however, offers readers a detailed treatment of the bloody Gold Rush California milieu in which Murrieta moved.

From The Wall Street Journal

Like Mavis Gallant and Lawrence Durrell, Jhabvala set many stories within the international milieu of diplomats and civil servants.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ambience
• surroundings