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• ness
  ness

  noun

  a headland; promontory; cape.
• -ness
  -ness

  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).
• Ness
  Ness

  noun

  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

¹ American  

[nes] / nɛs /

noun

1. a headland; promontory; cape.

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-ness ² American  

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.

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ness ¹ British  

/ nɛs /

noun

1. 1. archaic a promontory or headland

   2. ( capital as part of a name )

      Orford Ness

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-ness ² British  

suffix

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

   greatness

   selfishness

   meaninglessness

   a kindness

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Ness ³ British  

/ nɛs /

noun

1. 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)

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Usage

What does -ness mean? The suffix -ness 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.

Etymology

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. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ness -ness Ness

This still- ness doth dart with snake venom on itwell, / I’d have laughed.”

From Scientific American ● Jun. 19, 2013

A slider on the device adjusts the amount of "3-D ness," from maximum to 2-D.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 16, 2010

Clearly, it's not just grimy pelmets and overcooked breakfasts up for tut-tutting judgment but the lifestyles of the participants; there's a very British under-current of mean-spirited– ness to this show.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 28, 2010

Yet there are hints of the conscious ness of decades to come: the widow realizes she wants to learn to fend for herself.

From Time Magazine Archive

“So am I,” he said, on a gush of confiding- ness.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

Line-end hyphens were retained in past participles in i-, y- and equivalent, and after the prefixes out- and to-; they were omitted before common endings such as -lich, -ship, -ness, -full.

From A Concise Dictionary of Middle English From A.D. 1150 to 1580 by A. L. (Anthony Lawson) Mayhew

They are common enough, but are they as alive, as little petrified or bookish, as our English -ness and -ful and un-?

From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Edward Sapir

To be strictly accurate, the significance of the -ness is not quite as inherently determined, as autonomous, as it might be.

From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Edward Sapir

Radical element and affix, while measurably distinct, cannot be torn apart quite so readily as could the good and -ness of goodness.

From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Edward Sapir

The psychological distinctness of the affixed elements in an agglutinative term may be even more marked than in the -ness of goodness.

From Language An Introduction to the Study of Speech by Edward Sapir

They first met when they were 15, when Patryk's parents moved to England from Poland, and one of the first things they bonded over was the 1996 movie Loch Ness.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

A large part of Orford Ness was purchased by the War Department in 1913 and was closely guarded to prevent public access.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

While out in the US, the pair were able to visit two rings, including one in Roswell, New Mexico, which was compared with the one in Orford Ness.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

A group of 10 islanders, known as the Men of Ness, would spend about 10 days in August harvesting chicks, which are known as guga.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Van Ness Avenue, half a block from Howard’s dealership, was the broadest street in the city.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand