Is it ambiance or ambience? Ambiance and ambience are two different spellings of the same word, which denotes atmosphere or mood, especially of a place. Since editors prefer ambience, you can link these words together in your mind. You can remember to choose ambience for your audience since it is spelled with an extra E, the letter that begins editor. Thus, in addition to finding favor with editors, ambience will seem more natural, and is probably the better choice. Moreover, your audience will be used to seeing the word spelled this way, since ambience is used more frequently. Ambiance is closer to the word’s origins in French, but ambience is more common in actual use and has been in English longer.īoth of these spellings are legitimate, but most editors prefer ambience. Without quiet music, this coffee shop would have little in the way of ambiance.īoth of these words are nouns, and they share a common meaning.The grocery store had all the ambiance of a warehouse.What does ambiance mean? Ambiance, when it is spelled as such, has all the same meanings and uses as ambience. Ambience occurs more than twice as often in written English as ambiance.Īmbiance, which more closely resembles the original French word, is generally seen as an affectation in English, a vogue word that often comes with a pretentious pronunciation: Ahm-bee-ahns.

Still, to this day, ambience is the preferred spelling in American and British English. Ambience is the Anglicized version that first entered English in 1889, mirroring the adjective ambient, which has been in English since the late 16th century. – The New York TimesĪmbience and ambiance both derive from the French word ambiance. Bernal Heights has the ambience of a village, with small shops, public bulletin boards papered over with notices and even a wild coyote whose welfare many in the community fuss over.Inn of the Hawke has a pub ambience with a selection of craft beers.The low lighting and fireplaces gave the restaurant a pleasant ambience.It refers to the general character or atmosphere of a place.

What does ambience mean? Ambience is a noun. I will also tell you a helpful memory trick to help you decide whether to choose ambience or ambiance.

Ambiance harpers point