noun
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the natural features of a landscape
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theatre the painted backcloths, stage structures, etc, used to represent a location in a theatre or studio
Etymology
Origin of scenery
Explanation
Scenery is a word for how a place looks, especially a beautiful, outdoorsy place. Also, scenery is fake background in a play. If you go to a place with mountains, and beautiful trees, and gorgeous skies, then it's got great scenery. Scenery is the stuff you can look at outside. If a place is plain, ugly, or desolate, you might say, "Not much scenery." Also, painters and set designers create scenery for plays. In theater, scenery could represent anything: buildings, trees, or the inside of a house. If a play has a lot of different settings, then it needs a lot of scenery.
Vocabulary lists containing scenery
List 8
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Plot Development
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"Grand Canyon Speech"
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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.
A decade later, the power balance has changed as much as the scenery.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
She added: "For example, we don't know how big a role wildlife features like bird song or scenery play compared to more recreational activities like sea swimming or opportunities to socialise."
From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026
“I think people are really embracing this idea that even brief changes of scenery can really recharge you, your mind and spirit.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
He admired the scenery in Cuba and said he was happy it wasn’t “in a hurricane zone.”
From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026
The ride to the university seems endless, and it’s so dark out that I can’t even watch the scenery.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
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.
