VocabauraVOCABAURA

scene

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The location of an event that attracts attention.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

seen
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsin

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The location of an event that attracts attention.

  2. The location, time, circumstances, etc., in which something occurs, or in which the action of a story, play, or the like, is set up.

  3. theaterfilmtelevisionradio

    A part of a dramatic work that is set in the same place or time. In the theatre, generally a number of scenes constitute an act.

  4. A combination of objects or events in view or happening at a given moment at a particular place.

  5. An exhibition of passionate or strong feeling before others, creating embarrassment or disruption; often, an artificial or affected action, or course of action, done for effect; a theatrical display.

  6. A social environment consisting of an informal, vague group of people with a uniting interest; their sphere of activity; a subculture.

verb

  1. transitive

    To exhibit as a scene; to make a scene of; to display.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The location of an event that attracts attention.

Used this way, scene is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use scene

  • “The police returned to the scene of the crime.”noun
  • “The first act has three scenes.”noun
  • “He painted scenes from everyday life.”noun

Share your sentence

Write your own example sentence using “scene”. We review each one before it appears.

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Social

whole sceneamerican scene

Other combinations

crime scenepolitical scenefirst scenefinal scenelast sceneopening scene

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • scenicadjectiveDerived adjective

    Related to The location of an event that attracts attention.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • scene-stealernounCompound term

    An actor who draws more attention than other actors in the same scene.

  • scene of actionnounCompound term

    A playing field where sports events take place.

  • scene painternounCompound term

    An artist specializing in scenic subjects.

  • mise en scenenounCompound term

    Arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: location of an event that attracts attention

Use This Word

See how this word sounds in a real sentence.

Ask Vocabaura

Understand the word your way.

What Does It Mean Here?

Words can change meaning depending on context.

Use it yourself

Keep learning “scene” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.

Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.

Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.