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scene Definition

scene (sēn)

noun

  1. in ancient Greece or Rome, a theater stage
  2. the place in which any event, real or imagined, occurs the scene of a battle
  3. the setting or locale of the action of a play, opera, story, etc. the scene of Hamlet is Denmark
  4. a division of a play, usually part of an act, in which conventionally the action is continuous and in a single place
    1. a part of a play, film, story, etc. that constitutes a unit of development or action, as a passage between certain characters
    2. Film a section of a film, usually made up of a number of shots, which is unified by time, setting, characters, etc.
  6. scenery (sense )
  7. a view of people or places; picture or spectacle
  8. an awkward or embarrassing display of strong or excited feeling before others to make a scene in court
  9. an episode, situation, or event, real or imaginary, esp. as described or represented
  10. Informal the locale or environment for a specified activity the poetry scene

Etymology: MFr scène < L scena, scaena < Gr skēnē, covered place, tent, stage < IE base *sai-, to gleam softly > shine

scene Idioms

behind the scenes

  1. backstage
  2. in private or in secrecy; not for public knowledge

make the scene

☆ Slang
  1. to be present
  2. to participate, esp. in an effective or noticeable way
scene Synonyms

scene

n.

  1. Spectacle

    exhibition, display, picture; see view 1.

  2. A disturbance

    fuss, commotion, uproar; see disturbance 1, 2.

behind the scenes

surreptitiously, quietly, deviously; see secret 1, 3.

make the scene*

come, get there, make it*, show up; see arrive 1.

scene Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • devastation: TV reports from Istanbul showed scenes of devastation, with glass filled streets and rubble outside the British Council.

Converse of object

  • delete: Fans of the film will be hugely disappointed as deleted scenes are nowhere to be seen.
  • depict: The paintings, executed on canvas, depict scenes from the story of Ulysses.
  • dominate: From Factory Junction the canal swings sharply under a road bridge and enters a scene dominated by the Beans Foundry ahead of us.
  • set: Friday's meeting consisted of setting the scene for the use of Vitamin C in Type 1a.
  • shoot: This is Peak Practice Country, the town often having been used to shoot scenes from the ITV television program.
  • flee: Quickly pumping five shots into Marshall's body, Wallace fled the scene.

Adjective modifier

  • underground: LAS rose through the ranks of the underground hip-hop scene with a distinctively organic vibe that was styled to connect with the common man.
  • thriving: For a city of relatively small proportions Oxford has a large and thriving music scene.
  • vibrant: Aberdeen, too, is showing signs of an increasingly vibrant arts scene.

Modifies a noun

  • footage: This DVD is full of behind the scenes footage which will have not been seen as yet by anyone.
  • featurette: Like the previous behind the scenes featurette, this one's rubbish.
  • mode: To provide a bit of extra help with picture taking there are a range of scene modes available to you.

Noun used with modifier

  • opening: The opening scene for the next James Bond film was shot on the local beach.
  • music: Her take on her place in the music scene was what I felt I gained from the exchange.
  • crime: The public police will not normally patrol such areas and will only attend if called to a crime scene.
  • jazz: Curtis is becoming well known on the West Yorkshire jazz scene.
  • nativity: It is also common to see nativity scenes in German homes.
  • street: These can present an untidy impression adding to the general " clutter " of the street scene.
scene Quotes

The four most dramatic words in the English language: 'Act One, Scene One.'

—Hart, Moss

Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead thou me on; The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead thou me on. Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me.

—Newman,John Henry

My soul; sit thou a patient looker-on; Judge not the play before the play is done: Her plot hath many changes, every day Speaks a new scene; the last act crowns the play.

—Quarles, Francis

When you go out to paint, try to forget what objects you have before youöa tree, a house, a field, or whatever. Merely think, here is a little square of blue, here an oblong of pink, here a streakof yellow, and paint it just as it looks to you, the exact colour and shape, until it gives your own naive impression of the scene before you.

—Monet, Claude

Whence are we, and why are we? Of what scene The actors or spectators?

—Shelley, Percy Bysshe

The sun has gane down o'er the lofty Benlomond, And left the red clouds to preside o'er the scene, While lanely I stray, in the calm simmer gloamin', To muse on sweet Jessie, the flower o' Dunblane. How sweet is the brier wi' its saft faulding blossom, And sweet is the birk, wi' its mantle o'green; Yet sweeter, and fairer, and dear to this bosom, Is lovely young Jessie, the flower o' Dunblane.

—Tannahill, Robert

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will do To swell a progress, start a scene or two, Advise the prince.

—Eliot,T(homas) S(tearns)

Faithöis the Pierless Bridge Supporting what We see Unto the Scene that We do not.

—Dickinson, Emily Elizabeth

Ten or twelve, only ten or twelve Strokes of havoc unselve The sweet especial scene Rural scene, a rural scene Sweet especial rural scene.

—Hopkins, SirAnthony

   Awake, my St.John! leave all meaner things To low ambition, and the pride of kings. Let us (since Life can little more supply Than just to look about us and to die) Expatiate free o'er all this scene of man; A mighty maze! but not without a plan.

—Pope, Alexander

He nothing common did or mean Upon that memorable scene: But with his leener eye The axe's edge did try.

—Marvell, Andrew

O thou, the friend of man assigned, With balmy hands his wounds to bind, And charm his frantic woe: When first Distress with dagger keen Broke forth to waste his destined scene, His wild unsated foe!

—Collins,William

No pleasing Intricacies intervene, No artful wildness to perplex the scene; Grove nods at grove, each a mirror of the other. The suff'ring eye inverted Nature sees, Trees cut to Statues, Statues thick as trees, With here a Fountain, never to be play'd, And there a Summer-house, that knows no shade; Here Amphitrite sails thro'myrtle bow'rs There Gladiators fight, or die, in flow'rs Un-water'd see the drooping sea-horse mourn, And swallows roost in Nilus'dusty Urn.

—Pope, Alexander

Browse dictionary entries near scene

  1. ‹ scend
  2. ‹ scenario
  3. ‹ scena
  4. ‹ SCE
  5. ‹ ScD
  6. ‹ SCC Decision
  7. ‹ SCC
  8. ‹ ScB
  9. ‹ Scavenging Technique
  10. ‹ scavenger hunt
  1. scenery ›
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  4. scenography ›
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  10. Schönberg ›