FINENESS

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does fineness mean? 

• FINENESS (noun)
  The noun FINENESS has 4 senses:

1. the quality of being very good indeed

2. the property of being very narrow or thin

3. having a very fine texture

4. the quality of being beautiful and delicate in appearance

  Familiarity information: FINENESS used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FINENESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The quality of being very good indeed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

choiceness; fineness

Context example:

the inn is distinguished by the fineness of its cuisine

Hypernyms ("fineness" is a kind of...):

high quality; superiority (the quality of being superior)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The property of being very narrow or thin

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

fineness; thinness

Context example:

he marvelled at the fineness of her hair

Hypernyms ("fineness" is a kind of...):

narrowness (the property of being narrow; having little width)

Derivation:

fine (thin in thickness or diameter)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Having a very fine texture

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

fineness; powderiness

Context example:

the fineness of the sand on the beach

Hypernyms ("fineness" is a kind of...):

smoothness (a texture without roughness; smooth to the touch)

Derivation:

fine (of textures that are smooth to the touch or substances consisting of relatively small particles)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The quality of being beautiful and delicate in appearance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

daintiness; delicacy; fineness

Context example:

the fineness of her features

Hypernyms ("fineness" is a kind of...):

elegance (a refined quality of gracefulness and good taste)

 Context examples 

You must consult taste, and fineness, and tone.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

It was a task requiring the utmost nicety and precision, and I could not but admire the way he tempered his strength to the fineness and delicacy of the need.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Since my last return I find the breed is considerably increased, especially the sheep, which I hope will prove much to the advantage of the woollen manufacture, by the fineness of the fleeces.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

It is true that he started home at an hour which should have brought him to Westminster before the time when the crime was discovered, but his own explanation that he had walked part of the way seemed probable enough in view of the fineness of the night.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I had a young friend who set up housekeeping with six sheets, but she had finger bowls for company and that satisfied her, said Mrs. March, patting the damask tablecloths, with a truly feminine appreciation of their fineness.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

But nevertheless he felt sorry for the young fellow because of the great lack in his nature that prevented him from a proper appreciation of Ruth's fineness and beauty.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The rest of my cattle I got safe ashore, and set them a-grazing in a bowling-green at Greenwich, where the fineness of the grass made them feed very heartily, though I had always feared the contrary: neither could I possibly have preserved them in so long a voyage, if the captain had not allowed me some of his best biscuit, which, rubbed to powder, and mingled with water, was their constant food.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)