readiness

American  

[red-ee-nis] / ˈrɛd i nɪs /

noun

1. the condition of being ready.

2. ready movement; promptness; quickness.

3. ready action; ease; facility.

4. willingness; inclination; cheerful consent.

   a readiness to help others.

5. a developmental stage at which a child has the capacity to receive instruction at a given level of difficulty or to engage in a particular activity.

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readiness British  

/ ˈrɛdɪnɪs /

noun

1. the state of being ready or prepared, as for use or action

2. 1. prepared and waiting

      all was in readiness for the guests' arrival

   2. in preparation for

      he tidied the house in readiness for the guests' arrival

3. willingness or eagerness to do something

4. ease or promptness

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Other Word Forms

• overreadiness noun
• prereadiness noun

Etymology

Origin of readiness

1350–1400; Middle English redyness ( e ). See ready, -ness

Explanation

Readiness is a quality of being able or willing to do something. An athlete's readiness for the Olympics has to do with how warmed up she is, whether she's recovered from injuries, as well as her psychological state. Your readiness for something usually has to do with how well prepared you are. Your parents might have decorated a room and bought a crib before you were born, in readiness for your arrival. And local police sometimes clear the streets and direct traffic away in readiness for a big parade. Readiness can also mean "willingness," like an eager kindergartner's readiness to learn how to read.

Example Sentences

The obscurity condemned by Johnson derives in part from Shakespeare’s readiness to draw on vocabulary that would have struck even his contemporaries as bewilderingly nonstandard.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

But this should be part of a broader conversation about your respective readiness to retire, and how that could impact your expectations about the kind of lifestyle you want in your 60s and beyond.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 16, 2026

Within 60 days, the White House is directing the Energy Department to provide an assessment on the readiness of the U.S. nuclear reactor industrial base to produce “up to four space reactors within five years.”

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

By intentionally disrupting a specific energy pathway inside T cells, the researchers effectively rewired the cells' internal engines, placing them in a heightened state of readiness.

From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026

The hardest part was that every corpuscle of Jamie’s nine-year-old self was throbbing with readiness to run, and he had to bind up all that energy into a quiet lump.

From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg

Related Words

• fitness
• good will
• keenness
• preparation
• preparedness
• willingness