mise en scène
Americannoun
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the process of setting a stage, with regard to placement of actors, scenery, properties, etc.
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the stage setting or scenery of a play.
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surroundings; environment.
noun
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the arrangement of properties, scenery, etc, in a play
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the objects so arranged; stage setting
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the environment of an event
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mise en scène
First recorded in 1830–1835; French: literally, “a placing on stage”
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.
The mise en scène is sumptuously prepared with flourishes of rococo drollery.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
Many are filmed by the tantrummers themselves, staging their moments of resistance with an eye toward narrative, drama, mise en scène.
From Slate • Jul. 10, 2020
When you see that she’s clutching a wrinkly brown paper bag, the mise en scène becomes somehow sadder.
From The New Yorker • Nov. 8, 2018
The signature of an auteur is more like a faint palimpsest visible underneath a film’s action, editing, mise en scène, etc., as opposed to a bold, conspicuous graffiti tag.
From Salon • Jul. 29, 2017
If the singular talent which they display were not enough, the mise en scène would leave no doubt that this extraordinary piece of wall has the honor of supporting the exhibit of M. Meissonier.
From Lippincott's Magazine, Vol. 22, November, 1878 of Popular Literature and Science by Various
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.
