quaintness

American  

[kwaynt-nis] / ˈkweɪnt nɪs /

noun

1. the quality of being quaint.

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Explanation

Quaintness is a quality of being sweetly old-fashioned and a little bit unusual. Although you find them a little creepy, you also appreciate the quaintness of the dolls in your grandma's collection. Think of a charming bed and breakfast decorated in a whimsical style — its quaintness is what's special about it, setting it apart from sleek, modern hotel rooms. There's often a touch of eccentricity in quaintness, like the curious quaintness of a neighbor whose house is lit with oil lamps and who wears a long, flowing cape. The original meaning of quaintness, "proudness or cunning," is obsolete.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

quaintness

More locals are willing to accept development, as long as it doesn’t overwhelm the quaintness of the city, apartment developer Tourtellote said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Celebration promised a throwback quaintness, the way towns allegedly were.

From Salon ● May 2, 2023

“Admittedly, Crumb has ‘reintroduced’ expressivity to avant-garde concerts, which comes as a quaintness to blasé ears,” he wrote, “but his music is nothing more than expressivity — hanging unqualified in air.”

From Washington Post ● Nov. 21, 2022

That is until, abruptly, the quaintness gives way to a more eclectic quilt of neighborhoods that could be any postindustrial city of the American Northeast.

From New York Times ● Jul. 9, 2022

This is what I have, coffee and pie, sitting in one of the purple booths, watching young people exclaim over what they think is the quaintness of the past.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood