quaintness
Americannoun
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 The original meaning of quaintness, "proudness or cunning," is obsolete.
Vocabulary lists containing quaintness
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The Suffix -ness, Part 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“If we’re saying we will lose our quaintness because we have an address, I think that’s a false narrative,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2024
Celebration promised a throwback quaintness, the way towns allegedly were.
From Salon ● May 2, 2023
But in a way, that nostalgia is the message: There is a quaintness in Richard Nixon’s comeuppance in “Slow Burn,” in a time when there was still a generally shared sense of right and wrong.
From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2021
People came to the region year-round for the fresh air, the quaintness of a fishing village and the magnificent rock formations, which also lured many artists before and after Monet.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 30, 2021
After all, the Latin terms survive more or less in free variation with the Greek, and Puttenham’s English equivalents are abundantly charming—albeit that charm is conditioned by a certain quaintness.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
