milieu

[mil-yoo, meel-, mee-lyœ]

noun

plural

milieus ,

plural

milieux .

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

   a snobbish milieu.

   Synonyms: setting, sphere, background

milieu

/ miljø, ˈmiːljɜː /

noun

1. surroundings, location, or setting

Word History and Origins

Origin of milieu¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of milieu¹

C19: from French, from mi- _mid ¹ + lieu place

Synonym Study

See environment.

Example Sentences

This was the milieu in which young Carol grew up.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His lively melodies about love, hope and despair - embellished with catchy riffs - brought a breath of fresh air to an otherwise tense social milieu.

Read more on BBC

At home in this milieu, Parker mastered the art of grassroots promotion, of pulling in large crowds by plastering the town with loud, hyperbolic placards.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Hollywood High” also makes its way out of the white middle-class milieu where so many teen movies are set.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In such a milieu, Hine’s troubling 1908 photographs would easily disappear, perhaps seizing a moment but soon evaporating into the visual miasma that floods the zone daily.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ambience 
• surroundings