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Synonyms

breath of fresh air

Idioms  

  1. New and refreshing, as in His arrival was like a breath of fresh air. This term transfers the idea of fresh air to a new approach or welcome arrival, and has largely replaced both the earlier breath of heaven and breath of spring, although the latter is still heard occasionally. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Having something where you can sit down and be intellectual in a world that is increasingly anti-intellectual is a breath of fresh air,” Kolts said.

From Los Angeles Times

I was supposed to head downstairs for a reception with Congresswoman Pelosi and a delegation of California Democrats, but I needed a breath of fresh air.

From Los Angeles Times

If any one of them was still back at the farm, filling his or her lungs with deep breaths of fresh air, then I wouldn’t have to be standing here right now.

From Literature

“It was a breath of fresh air,” Morris said.

From The Wall Street Journal

When Stokes and McCullum took over, their attitude was a breath of fresh air.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.