gameness

[ geym-nis ]
See synonyms for gameness on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the quality of having a fighting spirit; courage or resolution; pluck: The horse revealed his true gameness, coming up from behind after that early stumble.

  2. the required enthusiasm or will to do something: In a show of gameness, they tackled the icy path with shovels and picks.

Origin of gameness

1
First recorded in 1805–10; game1 (in the adjective senses “plucky” and “enthusiastic”) + -ness

Words Nearby gameness

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gameness in a sentence

  • What he lacked in size he made up in grit and the men secretly respected his gameness.

  • Sam saw me catch this bonefish, and he was as amazed as I was at the gameness and speed and strength of so small a fish.

    Tales of Fishes | Zane Grey
  • Mr. Hampton was a thoroughgoing sport, and no quality was quite so apt to appeal to him as dead gameness.

    Bob Hampton of Placer | Randall Parrish
  • Somehow the sight of this brought back to him that abiding faith in her "dead gameness" which had first awakened his admiration.

    Bob Hampton of Placer | Randall Parrish
  • Both of the Dinsmores had a reputation for gameness in a country where the ordinary citizen was of proved courage.

    Oh, You Tex! | William Macleod Raine

British Dictionary definitions for gameness

gameness

/ (ˈɡeɪmnɪs) /


noun
  1. courage or bravery; pluck

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012