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closeness
[ klohs-nis ]
noun
- nearness in space or time:
Reclining my seat on the plane, I was aware of the closeness of the seats behind me.
All the media reports of the attack noted its closeness to Easter.
- the state or quality of having a strong bond of love or friendship; intimacy:
After the breakup, he thought he would never feel trust or real closeness again.
- nearness in kind or relationship:
Their analysis emphasized the closeness of the correlation between food prices and energy prices.
- the state or condition of having parts or elements near to one another; tightness or density:
Durability of the silk depends on the quality of the thread and the closeness of the weave.
- the quality or condition of leaving the hair, grass, etc., very short or flush with the surface:
My wife and children have noticed the closeness of the shave I get with my new razor.
- the quality or condition of not deviating from a model or original:
In certain passages the closeness of the translation is marvelous, but usually he paraphrases the original quite a bit.
- the quality or condition of being nearly even or equal, as of a contest or competition:
Given the closeness of the race so far, it’s impossible to predict the outcome of the mayoral election.
- the state or quality of being similar in degree, action, feeling, etc.:
Observers at the trial were deeply moved by her cracking voice and closeness to tears.
In the midst of my waning courage and closeness to despair, you helped me find hope and purpose.
- the state or condition of being confined or narrow:
Despite the closeness of the quarters—one main room shared by our two families—we all got along.
- a heavy, oppressive, or stifling condition due to heat, humidity, lack of ventilation or breeze, etc.; stuffiness or sultriness:
After an hour's conversation I left, half stifled by the heat and closeness of the room.
The brooding closeness of the atmosphere, even at night, smothers all activity in the rainforest.
- the quality of being rigorous, detailed, probing, etc., as of an examination, study, or the like:
One important need is to increase the closeness of the research carried out in public universities.
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Other Words From
- o·ver·close·ness noun
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Word History and Origins
Origin of closeness1
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Example Sentences
How do they maintain that closeness with this risk over their heads?
Is there something bizarre or abnormal about this type of father-daughter relationship, their closeness?
The early team felt an intense closeness—the kind of bond you form when everyone works together toward one unified goal.
“I think that there was—or is—a real closeness of Valentino and mine that never stopped,” Giammetti says.
For a while they became inseparable, but Morrissey never details their closeness.
She stood before him with lowered eyelids, her bosom heaving still from the agitation of fear his closeness had aroused in her.
Flora's whisper to Ethel was her first discovery that the closeness and the heat of the room was nearly overpowering.
The closeness of their association made all the more surprising this sudden exclusion.
In a minute he had folded his arms with the same closeness Vanderbank had used—in a minute he too was nervously shaking his foot.
Nowhere is the science of boat-building and boat-sailing studied with greater closeness than in that shop.
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