UNTIDINESS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does untidiness mean? 

• UNTIDINESS (noun)
  The noun UNTIDINESS has 2 senses:

1. the condition of being untidy

2. the trait of being untidy and messy

  Familiarity information: UNTIDINESS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• UNTIDINESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The condition of being untidy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

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

disorder; disorderliness (a condition in which things are not in their expected places)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "untidiness"):

sloppiness; slovenliness; unkemptness (a lack of order and tidiness; not cared for)

Antonym:

tidiness (the habit of being tidy)

Derivation:

untidy (not neat and tidy)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The trait of being untidy and messy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

messiness; untidiness

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

uncleanliness (lack of cleanly habits)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "untidiness"):

disarray; disorderliness (untidiness (especially of clothing and appearance))

Antonym:

tidiness (the trait of being neat and orderly)

Derivation:

untidy (not neat and tidy)

 Context examples 

Everywhere there were mingled the luxury of the wealthy man of taste and the careless untidiness of the bachelor.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Without his scrapbooks, his chemicals, and his homely untidiness, he was an uncomfortable man.

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

His incredible untidiness, his addiction to music at strange hours, his occasional revolver practice within doors, his weird and often malodorous scientific experiments, and the atmosphere of violence and danger which hung around him made him the very worst tenant in London.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Familiar as I was with my friend’s methods, it was not difficult for me to follow his deductions, and to observe the untidiness of attire, the sheaf of legal papers, the watch-charm, and the breathing which had prompted them.

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