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creakiness

creakiness

5.4
A short high noise or stiff feeling when something old and stiff moves
  • noun
  • /ˈkriːkɪnəs/
translation icon : chirriantez
  • The creakiness of the rusty hinges made it clear that the gate needed some oiling.

Examples

  • Many people experience creakiness in their knees as they age and their joints become less flexible.

  • He postulated the need for heroic presidents to marshal public opinion in order to override the government's constitutional creakiness.

    Academic text (1996)
  • After years of use, the old wooden door had developed a noticeable creakiness when opened.

Synonyms

creaking
vscreakiness
42 3.4

A long high sound that things make when they move or bend

refers to the general quality causing those sounds and a worn, stiff state

Antonyms

1 2.6

How something works without pauses or problems

How Creaky

creakiness
5.4
squeak
22 1.9
silence
660 2.0

Surface Forms

creakiness singular
creakinesses plural

Morphology

creakiness = creaky (transparent) = creak + y + ness

Formed from the adjective 'creaky' with the nominalizing suffix '-ness', producing the straightforward meaning 'the quality of being creaky'.

Etymology

Creakiness comes from the simple sound word creak, which copies the long, low noise that old wood, doors, or chairs make ('to make a long, low sound'), similar to the familiar word squeak but deeper. So creakiness means the quality of making that creaky sound or being stiff and worn.