Word of the Day: AMBIENT

Vibe check?

ambient (adj) - of or pertaining to the immediate surroundings; pervasive or encircling; relaxing [am-bee-uhnt]

BREAKDOWN: AMBI- (around) + IT- (go) + -ENT (state of)

• ambient also refers to ambient music, a genre of instrumental music used to create a certain atmosphere or state of mind

• ambience describes the atmosphere or mood of a place (also ambiance)

• ambit refers to the scope, range, or boundary of something; a sphere of operation or influence

“Ambient awareness is the experience of knowing what's going on in the lives of other people - what they're thinking about, what they're doing, what they're looking at - by paying attention to the small stray status messages that people are putting online. We're now able to stitch together these fantastic details and mental maps of what is going on in other people's lives.” —Clive Thompson