sweetness

C2+ Topic:Senses & Perception

US /ˈswitnəs/ UK /ˈswiːtnəs/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the quality of being sweet in taste, sound, or temperament

The sweetness of the ripe figs was almost cloying.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the quality of being sweet... sugarinessmellownessfragrance gentleness kindness pleasantness

Opposites

bitternesssournessharshness

Word family

Related forms sweet sweeten sweetie

Etymology

From Old English swētnes ('sweetness'), from swēte ('sweet') + -nes, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz, from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus ('sweet').

swētnes Old English *swéh₂dus Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Senses & Perception Word Formation & Derivatives

# sweetness

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

## Meanings
1. the quality of being sweet in taste, sound, or temperament

## Examples
- The sweetness of the ripe figs was almost cloying.

## Synonyms
- sugariness
- mellowness
- fragrance
- gentleness
- kindness
- pleasantness

## Antonyms
- bitterness
- sourness
- harshness

## Related Forms
- sweet
- sweeten
- sweetie

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: swētnes
- Root: *swéh₂dus

## Etymology
From Old English swētnes ('sweetness'), from swēte ('sweet') + -nes, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz, from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus ('sweet').

## AI Etymology
Sweetness is from Old English swētnes ('sweetness'), from swēte ('sweet') + -nes, from Proto-Germanic *swōtuz, from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus ('sweet'). Important recorded forms include swētnes (Old English) and *swéh₂dus (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the native -ness suffix turns an adjective or quality word into an abstract noun naming the state or condition. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers the quality of being sweet in taste, sound, or temperament. The wider family includes related words such as sweet, sweeten, and sweetie.

## Topics
- Senses & Perception
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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sweetness

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