I'm struggling to find a word that fits into the following:
The settlement's peaceful surroundings are ????? by the crashing of the pounding waves against the cliffs below and the swirling winds that come in from the Livian Sea.
I initially wrote "backed", but the more I looked at it the more it felt wrong. Characterised/Illustrated also (briefly) came to mind.
What is the right word to define the normal sound effects to a location?
Perhaps not what you had in mind, but how about the verb surround?
The settlement is peacefully surrounded by the crashing of the pounding waves against the cliffs below and the swirling winds that come in from the Livian Sea.
The word "ambience" can be used in reference to the background sounds, particularly if you reword your sentence like this:
"The settlement's peaceful surroundings are (jarred, enhanced, interspersed) by the ambience of the crashing and pounding waves against the cliffs below along with the swirling winds coming in from the Livian Sea."
Ambience: Noun
1) the character and atmosphere of a place: ‘the relaxed ambience of the cocktail lounge is popular with guests’
1.1) background noise added to a musical recording to give the impression that it was recorded live.
Origin:
late 19th century: from ambient + -ence, or from French ambiance, from ambiant 'surrounding'.
Resound is a suitable verb associated with sounds.
The settlement's peaceful surroundings are resounded with the crashing of the pounding waves...
[for something, such as the air or a place] to be filled with sound or sounds.
The hall resounded with the sounds of the orchestra.
The house resounded with the laughter of children.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
idioms.thefreedictionary.com
There can be other ways to embellish the sentence; and one might even use the verb embellish. As a bonus, embellish is a musical term also meaning 'to decorate or ornament the melody'.
embellish v.t. 2. to enhance with elaborative additions.
thefreedictionary.com
This is my first answer so I hope it is helpful. Amplified?
Consider the verb counterpoint
emphasize by contrast
Since the verb is not as familiar as the noun form, you could also consider
The settlement's peaceful surroundings stood in sharp counterpoint to the crashing of the pounding waves against the cliffs below and the swirling winds that come in from the Livian Sea.
Enhanced
The settlement's peaceful surroundings are enhanced by the crashing of the pounding waves
and some of its synonyms
Also
epitomised?
to contain or represent in small compass; serve as a typical example of; typify: This meadow epitomizes the beauty of the whole area.
