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compactness

compactness

1 4.4
How closely things are packed so they take little space
  • noun
  • /kəmˈpæktnəs/
: compactación
  • The compactness of the new smartphone makes it easy to carry in my pocket.
  • greater compactness

There's a culture that prizes compactness.

Examples

  • Obviously, the compactness of MIDI files makes MIDI an attractive option for online delivery of audio information.

    Academic text (1999)
  • One of the most striking features of the extant Islendingabok is its compactness.

    Academic text (1997)
  • However, this does not mean that the real compactness of the model becomes worse.

    Academic text (2018)
  • Right now you have YouTube, you have Duo for split screen stuff, but really it's about the compactness of the form factor.

  • Why are you considering switching to mirrorless if compactness is not your priority?

    Blog text (24)
  • Dad had a particular aversion to extravagance and insisted on the compactness of the things around him.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Chekhov once advised another writer that his works lacked the "compactness that makes short things alive" (Letters on the Short Story 82).

    Academic text (1993)
  • The initial ELSY design efforts demonstrate the great potential for system simplification and compactness that is characteristic of lead-cooled reactor systems.

    Academic text (2009)
  • The ideal blue laser source, from the viewpoint of compactness and direct modulation capability, would be a semiconductor laser diode.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Engineers designed the compactness of the building to maximize space efficiency.

Synonyms

concentration
vscompactness
130 3.5

A large number of people or things gathered in one place

describes the static state of being tightly packed rather than the action of gathering
density
vscompactness
44 4.2

How full a place is of people or things

refers more to the objects being tightly packed and taking less space
tightness
vscompactness
3 3.6

A state of having little space or being held firmly

focuses on how closely things pack together rather than on restriction or firmness
denseness
vscompactness
1 4.3

How closely things are packed together, for example in a crowd or forest

emphasizes how much space they take up rather than mere crowding

Antonyms

1 4.1

The feeling that a room or building is large and has plenty of space

How Compact

density
110 4.1
tightness
3 3.6
compactness
1 4.4
spaciousness
1 4.1

Surface Forms

compactness singular
compactnesses plural

Morphology

compactness = compact (transparent) = compact + ness

A straightforward nominalization: the adjective 'compact' + '-ness' yields the state or quality of being compact.

Etymology

Compactness comes from compact, which has the part com- meaning 'together' and is like the everyday word pack. So compactness is the quality of being tightly 'packed' together, which is why it means being dense or taking little space.