social environment

American  

noun

Sociology.

1. the environment developed by humans as contrasted with the natural environment; society as a whole, especially in its relation to the individual.

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Usage

What is a social environment? A person’s social environment is their society and all surroundings influenced in some way by humans. It includes all relationships, institutions, culture, and physical structures.The natural environment is the natural world around us: the ground, the trees, the air. The social environment is, collectively, all of the things that humans have overlaid on top of our world: our personal and societal relationships, our institutions, our cultures, and our physical surroundings—all of the aspects and products of human activity and interaction.Sociologists, health researchers, and others study how the social environment shapes who we are and how we live, especially how individuals are affected by such factors.

Example Sentences

“In group texts, or that kind of social environment, ideas can get a bit out of hand because no one acknowledges financial constraints,” Thompson says.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026

Overall around 3,000 attendees are expected from the business world, including 850 CEOs or board chairs, as well as social, environment and labour activists.

From Barron's • Jan. 13, 2026

Greenland’s social environment is also different from Denmark’s — its Indigenous population, which has its own social mores, is larger as a proportion of the population, and residents are concentrated in the giant island’s southwest.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2025

"It will also improve the social environment for communities, residents, businesses and visitors to these areas," he said.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2025

First, even our cognitive abilities as adults are heavily influenced by the social environment that we experienced during childhood, making it hard to discern any influence of preexisting genetic differences.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond