readiness

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /ˈrɛdinəs/ UK /ˈrɛdinəs/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the state of being prepared or willing

The troops stood in a state of readiness.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state of being prepared... preparedness willingness promptness alacrity eagerness preparation

Opposites

reluctanceunpreparednesshesitation

Word family

Etymology

From ready + -ness; ready is from Middle English redy, from Old English ræde ('prepared, mounted'), of Germanic origin, related to ride.

ræde Old English

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Topics

Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives

# readiness

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈrɛdinəs
**IPA (UK):** ˈrɛdinəs

## Meanings
1. the state of being prepared or willing

## Examples
- The troops stood in a state of readiness.

## Synonyms
- preparedness
- willingness
- promptness
- alacrity
- eagerness
- preparation

## Antonyms
- reluctance
- unpreparedness
- hesitation

## Related Forms
- ready
- readily

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: ræde

## Etymology
From ready + -ness; ready is from Middle English redy, from Old English ræde ('prepared, mounted'), of Germanic origin, related to ride.

## AI Etymology
Readiness comes from ready + -ness; ready is from Middle English redy, from Old English ræde ('prepared, mounted'), of Germanic origin, related to ride. The historical chain includes Old English ræde. The quoted older sense, "prepared, mounted," supplies the immediate semantic anchor for readiness. The formation is best read as suffixal and borrowed: the word readiness carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "the state of being prepared or willing". Related English forms include ready and readily. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Law & Government
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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