tout ensemble
- noun
- /tuː ɑːnˈsɑːmbl/
- Formal
- The tout ensemble of the décor and furniture created a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Examples
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Her dress was lovely, but the tout ensemble was what captured everyone’s attention.
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Critics praised the tout ensemble of the new ballet for its harmony and balance.
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The painting, tout ensemble, creates a vibrant atmosphere.
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When viewed as a tout ensemble, the sculptures tell a story.
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Critics praised the tout ensemble of the new ballet for its harmony and balance.
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Her dress was lovely, but the tout ensemble was what captured everyone’s attention.
-
The tout ensemble of the décor and furniture created a warm and inviting atmosphere.
Synonyms
A mixture of things or parts that form one thing
A group of parts or details that make one complete design
A whole made of parts that is more than the parts added together
The general appearance of something as a whole
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
tout + ensemble
The sense 'with everything taken into account' is directly compositional from tout ('all') + ensemble ('together/whole'), so the overall meaning ('all together' / 'altogether') follows transparently from the parts. Although this is a French borrowing used in English, the logic matches common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Tout ensemble comes from French words tout meaning 'all' and ensemble meaning 'together', creating the image of stepping back to see a dress, shoes and hair as one picture. So it means 'the overall effect' of a group of things.