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Glite Dictionary
🧴 Fragile quality 🤝 Gentle handling
delicateness

delicateness

4.9
A fine, fragile quality in objects like porcelain and flower petals
  • noun
  • /ˈdɛlɪkətnəs/
translation icon : delicadeza
  • Despite its apparent delicateness, this perennial vegetable can withstand high heat, both in terms of temperature and spice.

Examples

  • The light is concentrated on the face, which is kept from looking harsh by the girl's sensitive expression and the delicateness of her hair.

  • The sisters had status for their delicateness, personality, charm, talent, or beauty.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Brothers were reported as being special due to their gender or health; sisters because of their talent, beauty, charm, or delicateness.

    Academic text (1998)

  • The pink, the airy giggles, the delicateness; it's all just so... foreign.

    Blog text (6)

  • I visually traced the contour of her arm, and again I was struck by the delicateness of her wrist.

Synonyms

delicacy
vsdelicateness
4 5.3

A soft, gentle beauty in small or carefully made things

focuses more on fragility and sensitivity
exquisiteness
vsdelicateness
1 7.1

A very great beauty shown in delicate detail

is milder and highlights fragility and subtlety
fineness
vsdelicateness
1 5.3

How delicate and detailed something looks or feels

stresses fragility and sensitivity rather than refinement
diaphaneity
vsdelicateness
  • Literature
9.9

A light, delicate quality that lets light pass and looks slightly see-through

focuses on fragility and sensitivity rather than translucence

Antonyms

robustness
2 5.5

Strength and health that help a person or thing withstand hard conditions

coarseness
4.1

A rough texture that is not smooth

How Delicate

fragility
17 5.2
delicateness
4.9
fineness
1 5.3
sturdiness
1 3.4

Surface Forms

delicateness singular
delicatenesses plural

Morphology

delicateness = delicate (transparent) = delicate + ness

The noun is a standard nominalization of the adjective 'delicate' with '-ness', so the meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

The word delicateness comes from delicate, which comes from an old Latin word delectare meaning 'to delight' or 'please'. Because things that delight are often small, fine, and need careful handling, delicateness means 'fragile, fine, or sensitive'.