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scenery

[see-nuh-ree]
noun, plural scen·er·ies.
  1. the general appearance of a place; the aggregate of features that give character to a landscape.
  2. hangings, draperies, structures, etc., used on a stage to represent a locale or furnish decorative background.
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Idioms
  1. chew the scenery, to act melodramatically; overact.
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Origin of scenery

First recorded in 1740–50; scene + -ery

Synonyms

1. terrain, view, surroundings.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

decorfurnishingsterrainsettinglandscapespectaclebackdropfurnitureprospectflatvistasetneighborhoodsphereviewpropsproperties

Examples from the Web for sceneries

Historical Examples

  • From Swedish sceneries and animal life she borrows her most beautiful images.

    Sweden

    Victor Nilsson

  • He is well “posted-up” in the local histories and sceneries of the place.

  • There were “big rocks, gulches, and sceneries” of a far better quality down the coast on the way to Wrangell.

  • And he knew people who had fine Indian sceneries; he would speak to them and to others who had Indian costumes.

British Dictionary definitions for sceneries

scenery

noun plural -eries
  1. the natural features of a landscape
  2. theatre the painted backcloths, stage structures, etc, used to represent a location in a theatre or studio
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Word Origin

C18: from Italian scenario
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 sceneries

scenery

n.

"decoration of a theater stage," 1770, earlier scenary; see scene + -ery. Meaning "a landscape or view, a pictorial scene" is from 1777.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper