Environment Meaning
/ɪnˈvaɪ.ɹə.mənt/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe surroundings of, and influences on, a particular item of interest.
nounThe natural world or ecosystem.
Sentence Examples
The environment was the focus of student council activities.
The destruction of the environment is appalling.
The government should do more to protect the environment.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The government passed laws to protect the ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We must work together to protect the natural ____ for future generations.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Middle French environnementbor. English environment From Middle French environnement. Compare French environnement. By surface analysis, environ + -ment.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"What was seen from the top down, as a large environment with many difficult trade-offs, is instead seen from the bottom up--as 10 million microenvironments, each to be regulated in its own right. It is this inversion of perspective that distinguishes microgovernment from other kinds of regulation, and that accounts for its often-bizarre behavior."
— 1998 September 19, Jonathan Rauch, “Tunnel Vision: The Dawn of Microgovernment”, in National Journal, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2012:
"It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […]; […]; or perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment."
— 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The government passed laws to protect the ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We must work together to protect the natural ____ for future generations.