setting
noun
set·ting ˈse-tiŋ 
1
: the manner, position, or direction in which something is set
2
: the frame or bed in which a gem is set
also : style of mounting
3
a
: the time, place, and circumstances in which something occurs or develops
b
: the time and place of the action of a literary, dramatic, or cinematic work
c
: the scenery used in a theatrical or film production
4
: the music composed for a text (such as a poem)
5
: the articles of tableware for setting a place at table
two settings of sterling silver
6
: a batch of eggs for incubation
Synonyms
- ambient
- atmosphere
- climate
- clime
- context
- contexture
- environment
- environs
- medium
- milieu
- mise-en-scène
- surround
- surroundings
- terrain
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
This would be a beautiful setting for a picnic. He tends to be shy in social settings. dining in a casual setting The movie changes the play's setting from the late 18th century to the year 2000. She uses modern-day Los Angeles as the setting for her book. Save money by turning the temperature settings up in the summer and down in the winter. She just learned how to change the settings on her camera. See More
Recent Examples on the Web The main factor in the choice of a shooting site is the fictional setting in the script. 
Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2022 Above it all, the soffit at the ceiling is the setting for a 95-foot, black-and-white mural from Fort Lauderdale artist Rosanna Kalis (which will be layered in projections from Jasper Mosher of The Electric Dream Machine). Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel, 15 Sep. 2022 The Arena’s massive floor and stadium seating is a popular and familiar setting for the season’s largest balls. al, 12 Sep. 2022 The run was an ideal setting for testing the Exploration, a new 18-liter vest-pack hybrid built on the fundamentals of the brand’s existing Slope Runner series. Andy Cochrane, Outside Online, 6 Sep. 2022 Indeed, the field has been the setting for many photos, as posted on local social media pages, and people’s personal social media. Steve Smith, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2022 California is also the setting for one of the earliest prominent examples of rap lyrics being used as legal evidence. Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Aug. 2022 Powell spoke last week at an annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that has been the setting for market-moving Fed speeches in the past. CBS News, 29 Aug. 2022 How Shepherdsville, population 14,797, became the setting for the new four-part mini-series is 100% the result of the Kentucky man who adopted the story from Joyce's book and produced the show for Netflix. Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 24 Aug. 2022 See More
Jon Healey, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2022 Above it all, the soffit at the ceiling is the setting for a 95-foot, black-and-white mural from Fort Lauderdale artist Rosanna Kalis (which will be layered in projections from Jasper Mosher of The Electric Dream Machine). Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel, 15 Sep. 2022 The Arena’s massive floor and stadium seating is a popular and familiar setting for the season’s largest balls. al, 12 Sep. 2022 The run was an ideal setting for testing the Exploration, a new 18-liter vest-pack hybrid built on the fundamentals of the brand’s existing Slope Runner series. Andy Cochrane, Outside Online, 6 Sep. 2022 Indeed, the field has been the setting for many photos, as posted on local social media pages, and people’s personal social media. Steve Smith, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2022 California is also the setting for one of the earliest prominent examples of rap lyrics being used as legal evidence. Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Aug. 2022 Powell spoke last week at an annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that has been the setting for market-moving Fed speeches in the past. CBS News, 29 Aug. 2022 How Shepherdsville, population 14,797, became the setting for the new four-part mini-series is 100% the result of the Kentucky man who adopted the story from Joyce's book and produced the show for Netflix. Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 24 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing setting
Kids Definition
setting
noun
set·ting
ˈse-tiŋ
1
: the act of someone or something that sets
2
: that in which something is set or mounted
a gold setting for a ruby
3
: the background (as time and place) of the action of a story or play
setting 1 of 2
noun
1
as in environment
the circumstances, conditions, or objects by which one is surrounded the novice camper felt lost outside of his familiar urban setting Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- environment
- atmosphere
- surroundings
- surround
- context
- climate
- environs
- location
- place
- backdrop
- milieu
- ambient
- space
- terrain
- medium
- background
- situation
- position
- element
- mise-en-scène
- clime
- status
- contexture
- habitat
- geography
- microenvironment
2
as in set
the place and time in which the action for a portion of a dramatic work (as a movie) is set the setting for the novel is Victorian England Synonyms & Similar Words
- set
- scene
- backdrop
- background
- locale
- scenery
- tableau
- mise-en-scène
setting
2 of 2verb
1
as in sitting
to cover and warm eggs as the young inside develop the hen set for days Synonyms & Similar Words
- sitting
- spawning
- laying
- hatching
- brooding
- incubating
2
as in choosing
to decide upon (the time or date for an event) usually from a position of authority set a date for the wedding Synonyms & Similar Words
- choosing
- selecting
- picking
- naming
- designating
- establishing
- specifying
- appointing
- arranging
- fixing
- announcing
- assigning
- determining
- adopting
- publishing
- coordinating
- preferring
- settling
- advertising
- orchestrating
- declaring
- pinning (down)
- opting (for)
- singling (out)
3
as in assessing
to make an approximate or tentative judgment regarding fire losses were set at a million dollars Synonyms & Similar Words
- assessing
- estimating
- valuing
- evaluating
- rating
- appraising
- valuating
- analyzing
- guesstimating
- learning
- discovering
- determining
- ascertaining
- testing
- pricing
- deeming
- judging
- deciding
- surveying
- reassessing
- settling
- adjudging
- reevaluating
- reappraising
- prizing
- re-evaluating
- revaluing
- transvaluating
- assaying
- misjudging
- transvaluing
- underestimating
- undervaluing
- rejudging
- misesteeming
- misprizing
4
as in sprawling
chiefly dialect to rest on the buttocks or haunches come over and set for a spell Synonyms & Similar Words
- sitting
- sprawling
- lounging
- squatting
- straddling
- perching
- slouching
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- rising
- standing
- arising
- getting up
5
as in aiming
to point or turn (something) toward a target or goal determined to see the West, she set her car towards the sun and drove off Synonyms & Similar Words
- aiming
- casting
- heading
- training
- holding
- directing
- leveling
- bending
- focusing
- steering
- pinpointing
- levelling
- facing
- orienting
- concentrating
- focussing
- sighting
- bearing
- inclining
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- diverting
- curving
- deflecting
- shunting
- averting
- detouring
- sidetracking
- rechanneling
6
as in deciding
to come to an agreement or decision concerning the details of finally set some plans for the luncheon Synonyms & Similar Words
- deciding
- arranging
- choosing
- resolving
- planning
- figuring
- fixing
- settling
- completing
- designing
- finalizing
- finishing
- shaping
- disposing of
- determining
- framing
- charting
- programming
- drafting
- maneuvering
- promising
- approving
- closing
- calculating
- contracting
- confirming
- concluding
- dealing
- scheming
- schematizing
- sanctioning
- opting
- negotiating
- ending
- authorizing
- blueprinting
- agreeing (on)
- intriguing
- pledging
- affirming
- laying out
- working out
- concerting
- clearing
- programing
- warranting
- hammering out
- bargaining
- squaring away
- okaying
- haggling
- wrapping up
- mapping (out)
- OK'ing
- winding up
- dickering
- chaffering
- horse-trading
- rounding (off or out)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- calling
- dropping
- recalling
- revoking
- repealing
- rescinding
- opposing
- objecting
- countering
- differing (over)
- resisting
- debating
- aborting
- protesting
- disagreeing (with)
- calling off
- contesting
- disputing
7
as in securing
to put securely in place or in a desired position had the jeweler set the diamond again Synonyms & Similar Words
- securing
- clamping
- fixing
- anchoring
- fastening
- catching
- hitching
- mooring
- embedding
- lodging
- entrenching
- stuffing
- wedging
- implanting
- imbedding
- engraining
- intrenching
- ingraining
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- loosening
- pulling
- loosing
- extracting
- unfastening
- unloosing
- prying
- unfixing
- yanking
- unloosening
- uprooting
- tearing (out)
- wresting
- prizing
- rooting (out)
8
as in freezing
to turn from a liquid into a substance resembling jelly the gelatin is just starting to set now Synonyms & Similar Words
- freezing
- gelling
- stiffening
- jellying
- coagulating
- gelating
- clumping
- gelatinizing
- clotting
- congealing
- jelling
- fixing
- hardening
- indurating
- solidifying
- condensing
- thickening
- caking
- concreting
- curding
- gumming
- curdling
- firming (up)
- lumping (up)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- melting
- thawing
- fusing
- fluxing
- liquefying
- liquifying
- deliquescing
9
as in putting
to arrange something in a certain spot or position set a book on the table Synonyms & Similar Words
- putting
- situating
- placing
- positioning
- locating
- laying
- sticking
- fixing
- depositing
- disposing
- planting
- establishing
- emplacing
- parking
- deposing
- moving
- shifting
- locking
- setting up
- orienting
- reordering
- rearranging
- assembling
- plopping
- collecting
- slapping
- carrying
- clapping
- settling
- plunking
- anchoring
- plumping
- plonking
- lodging
- ranking
- ensconcing
- wedging
- queuing
- affixing
- arraying
- planking
- flopping
- niching
- plunking down
- plonking down
- berthing
- laying out
- setting down
- lining up
- queueing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- taking
- removing
- relocating
- replacing
- displacing
- banishing
- superseding
- supplanting
- dislodging
10
as in hardening
to become physically firm or solid the concrete must set completely before anyone can walk on it Synonyms & Similar Words
- freezing
- hardening
- indurating
- solidifying
- stiffening
- congealing
- gelling
- concreting
- crystallizing
- thickening
- encrusting
- gelating
- coagulating
- tempering
- crystalizing
- gelatinizing
- callusing
- caking
- petrifying
- rigidifying
- jellying
- firming (up)
- incrusting
- ossifying
- calcifying
- clotting
- annealing
- jelling
- case-hardening
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- softening
- melting
- liquefying
- thawing
- dissolving
- fusing
- smelting
- fluxing
- liquifying
- unfreezing
- deliquescing
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of setting are background, environment, milieu, and mise-en-scène. While all these words mean "the place, time, and circumstances in which something occurs," setting suggests looking at real-life situations in literary or dramatic terms.
a militant reformer who was born into an unlikely social setting
The meanings of background and setting largely overlap; however, background often refers to the circumstances or events that precede a phenomenon or development.
the shocking decision was part of the background of the riots
In some situations, the words environment and setting are roughly equivalent. However, environment applies to all the external factors that have a formative influence on one's physical, mental, or moral development.
the kind of environment that produces juvenile delinquents
Although the words milieu and setting have much in common, milieu applies especially to the physical and social surroundings of a person or group of persons.
an intellectual milieu conducive to artistic experimentation
The synonyms mise-en-scène and setting are sometimes interchangeable, but mise-en-scène strongly suggests the use of properties to achieve a particular atmosphere or theatrical effect.
a gothic thriller with a carefully crafted mise-en-scène