goodness
the state or quality of being good.
moral excellence; virtue.
kindly feeling; kindness; generosity.
excellence of quality: goodness of workmanship.
the best part of anything; essential property; strength.
a euphemism for God: Thank goodness!
Also my goodness or goodness gracious . (used in expressions of surprise, alarm, etc.): Goodness, you gave me a start!Goodness gracious, this article is so badly written!
Origin of goodness
1synonym study For goodness
Other words for goodness
| 2 | integrity, honesty, probity; uprightness |
| 3 | benevolence, benignity, humanity |
| 4 | worth, value, merit |
Opposites for goodness
Other words from goodness
- su·per·good·ness, noun
Words Nearby goodness
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use goodness in a sentence
Thank goodness that we have this private-sector expertise that we want to shape into a global public good that gets to everybody on the planet.
‘There’s been some cracks:’ Bill Gates questions FDA’s credibility on a COVID-19 vaccine | Claire Zillman, reporter | September 16, 2020 | FortunePlato thought that before birth we resided in the world of “the Forms,” together with numbers, universals, and goodness itself.
The Universe Knows Right from Wrong - Issue 89: The Dark Side | Philip Goff | September 9, 2020 | NautilusWe’re all bogged down and floundering, questioning our own goodness while we arch our eyebrows at our friends and argue over whose patch of muck is really solid ground.
Every Decision Is A Risk. Every Risk Is A Decision. | Maggie Koerth (maggie.koerth-baker@fivethirtyeight.com) | July 21, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightWe’re capable of great evil in some cases, but we’re also capable of great goodness.
5 Psychology Terms You’re Probably Misusing (Ep. 334 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | January 9, 2020 | FreakonomicsSo they don’t want to actually confront the United States Navy, for goodness sake.
But my goodness, even the air around Oxford University is studious.
All would attest to the manifest goodness that inspired the perfect nickname for the boy who would become a perfect cop.
That goodness steered him clear of the Sex Boys, the Crazy Homicides, the Sons of Nuns, and the other gangs of East New York.
Enforcement of U.S Code, Title VII, Chapter 25A “Export Standards for Grapes and Plums” remains fully funded, thank goodness.
In a country with a constitution that values secularism, religion is still the prime indicator of morality and goodness.
The Good Wife’s Religion Politics: Voters Have No Faith in Alicia's Atheism | Regina Lizik | November 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd he stood up in the shameful fall of the people: in the goodness and readiness of his soul he appeased God for Israel.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousIn truth, M. de Biancourt's goodness and prudence seemed much shaken by this tempest of human passions.
goodness only knew what a falchion was, but there was the Griffin, and his history was an improvement upon the eternal Cat.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingAfter all she, Hilda, possessed some mysterious characteristic more potent than the elegance and the goodness of Janet Orgreave.
Hilda Lessways | Arnold BennettOne finds new friends;—and dear little girls; and—goodness knows what I shall find next.
Rosemary in Search of a Father | C. N. Williamson
British Dictionary definitions for goodness
/ (ˈɡʊdnɪs) /
the state or quality of being good
generosity; kindness
moral excellence; piety; virtue
a euphemism for God goodness knows!; thank goodness!
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with goodness
In addition to the idioms beginning with goodness
- goodness gracious
- goodness knows
also see:
- for the sake of
, def. 3; god (goodness) knowshonest to god (goodness)my god (goodness.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse