defensiveness C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities US /dɪˈfɛnsɪvnəs/ UK /dɪˈfensɪvnəs/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the quality of being anxiously protective or guarded His defensiveness made honest feedback impossible. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the quality of being... warinessguardednesstouchinessinsecuritysensitivity ↔ Opposites opennessreceptivenessequanimity Word family Related forms defensivedefensedefend Etymology AI details From defensive (from Medieval Latin defensivus, from Latin defendere 'to ward off') plus the abstract suffix -ness. defensivus Latin defendere Latin *gʷʰen- Proto-Indo-European View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # defensiveness **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /dɪˈfɛnsɪvnəs/ **IPA (UK):** /dɪˈfensɪvnəs/ ## Meanings 1. the quality of being anxiously protective or guarded ## Examples - His defensiveness made honest feedback impossible. ## Synonyms - wariness - guardedness - touchiness - insecurity - sensitivity ## Antonyms - openness - receptiveness - equanimity ## Related Forms - defensive - defense - defend ## Roots and Affixes - Root: defensivus - Root: defendere - Root: *gʷʰen- ## Etymology From defensive (from Medieval Latin defensivus, from Latin defendere 'to ward off') plus the abstract suffix -ness. ## AI Etymology Defensiveness is from defensive (from Medieval Latin defensivus, from Latin defendere 'to ward off') plus the abstract suffix -ness. The ancestry passes through Latin defensivus, Latin defendere, and Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen-. The suffix -ness marks an abstract noun of quality or state, so the English form is shaped by recognizable word formation as well as by its inherited or borrowed base. In present use as a noun, it means "the quality of being anxiously protective or guarded", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include defensive, defense, and defend. ## Topics - Describing Qualities - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown