ambient

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 30, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>ambient</strong> &#149; \AM-bee-unt\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> existing or present on all sides <strong>:</strong> <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/encompassing">encompassing</a></p> <p><strong>2</strong> <em>of electronic music</em> <strong>:</strong> quiet and relaxing with melodies that repeat many times</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"These sophisticated spaces are stocked with elements to lure homeowners outdoors: water and fire features; … <em>ambient</em> lighting to set the mood." — <a href="https://www.startribune.com/heated-seats-and-fire-pits-extend-the-season-for-pandemic-socializing/572803852/">Rachel Hutton, <em>The Star Tribune</em> (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 21 Oct. 2020</a></p> <p>"The fear might go away after a couple of scenes, or even right after a first entrance. 'Sort of like in movies when all <em>ambient</em> noise fades away and everything goes out of focus but the path ahead,' says Leontyne Mbele-Mbong." — <a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/theater/when-stage-fright-and-its-embarrassing-bodily-reactions-are-helpful">Lily Janiak, <em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em>, 22 Oct. 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Biologists explore the effects of ambient light on plants; acoustics experts try to control ambient sound; and meteorologists study ambient pressure, air, or temperature. All this can make <em>ambient</em> seem like a technical term, but when it first saw light of day, that all-encompassing adjective was as likely to be used in poetry as in science. John Milton used it in <em>Paradise Lost</em>, and Alexander Pope wrote of a mountain "whose tow'ring summit ambient clouds conceal'd." Both poets and scientists who use <em>ambient</em> owe a debt to the L