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View synonyms for ness

ness

1

[ nes ]

noun

  1. a headland; promontory; cape.


-ness

2
  1. a native English suffix attached to adjectives and participles, forming abstract nouns denoting quality and state (and often, by extension, something exemplifying a quality or state):

    darkness; goodness; kindness; obligingness; preparedness.

ness

1

/ nɛs /

noun

    1. a promontory or headland
    2. ( capital as part of a name )

      Orford Ness



Ness

2

/ nɛs /

noun

  1. Loch Ness
    Loch Ness a lake in NW Scotland, in the Great Glen: said to be inhabited by an aquatic monster. Length: 36 km (22.5 miles). Depth: 229 m (754 ft)

-ness

3

suffix forming nouns

  1. indicating state, condition, or quality, or an instance of one of these

    selfishness

    greatness

    meaninglessness

    a kindness

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Word History and Origins

Origin of ness1

First recorded before 900; Middle English -nes(s) (in placenames), in part continuing Old English næs, in part from Old Norse nes; akin to nose

Origin of ness2

Middle English, Old English -nes, -nis, cognate with German -nis, Gothic -(n)assus; suffix originally (unattested) -assus; -n- by false division of words with adjective and past participle stems ending in -n-; compare Old English efnes (later efen-nys ) evenness ( def )

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Word History and Origins

Origin of ness1

Old English næs headland; related to Old Norse nes, Old English nasu nose

Origin of ness2

Old English -nes, of Germanic origin; related to Gothic -nassus

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Example Sentences

That his face is quite different from mine if you look for anything other than “Asian-ness.”

This year, the show has even resurrected Eliot Ness, seen making a pompous speech to reporters about bringing Capone to justice.

Now it appears Boardwalk Empire is not only going to feed us more fiction but, with the addition of Ness, recycled fiction.

He was a gay bro, whose gay-ness was probably the most matter-of-fact thing about him.

At the same time, playing an animal does require more feral-ness, so to speak.

You will be in again this week, she said coaxingly, you can give me ten minutes out of your busy-ness.

The boys took the carriage around to the barn and left it in charge of Jack Ness, the man of all work.

The lads ran down to the barn and had Jack Ness hitch up a fresh team to a buckboard.

This really is asking for the "man-ness" of a man, something characteristic of him, and inseparable from him.

I run across him five years ago in Arizona, where he had been in the stage-robbin' bus'ness.

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Words That Use -ness

What does -ness mean?

The suffixness is used to denote a quality or state of being. It is often used in a variety of everyday terms.

The form –ness comes from Old English –nes. Similar suffixes in Latin include –itās and –tūdō, both of which indicate a state of being and are the sources of the English suffixes ity and tude. Check out our entries for both suffixes to learn how frequently they appear.

Examples of -ness

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –ness is bitterness, “a harsh, acrid taste.”

The bitter part of the word means “bitter” in the sense of “having a harsh, disagreeably acrid taste.” As we have seen, –ness means “quality” or “state of being.” Bitterness literally means “the state of being bitter.”

What are some words that use the combining form –ness?

What are some other forms that –ness may be commonly confused with?

Break it down!

Given the meaning of –ness, what does pleasantness mean?

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