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Glite Dictionary
💬 Direct criticism ✏️ A sharp tip
pointedness

pointedness

1 7.1
A comment or look clearly directed at someone, often critical
  • noun
  • /ˈpɔɪntɪdnəs/
translation icon : agudeza
  • All in all, it is a beautiful performance he gives, a fine interpretation of the form, with speed, precision, and, on his face, a one-pointedness of focus that brings a smile to the lips of one girl in the group.

But the team as a whole is really responsible for the coherence and pointedness of the paper.

Examples

  • What looks back at us in the hardness and the blackness of that gaze, the harshness and staccato pointedness of that gesture?

    Academic text (2000)

  • I happened to be vastly amused by the pointedness of the article by Bradley T. Borden and David J. Reiss.

    Blog text (14)

  • But the team as a whole is really responsible for the coherence and pointedness of the paper.

    MIT OpenCourseWare

  • I call Desmond's "style" polite pointedness, which helped her navigate the hearings.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Critics have missed its specifically Belgian pointedness, its uncomfortable dig at French hegemonic assumptions.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Yet the pointedness of La salle de bain would seem to go beyond the "blank," empty play, lacking in laughter and conviction, of Jameson's pastiche.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Polite pointedness helped Desmond navigate the hearings and insert a number of arguments and critiques into the record that otherwise might not have been made by other, more expert parties in attendance.

    Academic text (2016)

  • While their lifestyle is seen as morally degraded by some, they demonstrate a mix of pointedness and indirection, remaking the authority of speaking in the face of structural inequality.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Her remarks were filled with a certain pointedness that made it clear she was addressing the mistakes of the committee.

  • The teacher appreciated the pointedness in the student's essay, as it clearly highlighted the flaws in the argument.

Synonyms

sharpness
vspointedness
1 4.6

A harsh, sudden way of speaking that sounds unfriendly

is about remarks clearly aimed at a specific person or thing

Antonyms

subtlety
54 6.8

A small important detail that is hard to notice

indirectness
1 6.1

Not saying something clearly to avoid offending someone or to hide the real meaning

How Direct

bluntness
6 4.8
pointedness
1 7.1
subtlety
54 6.8
indirectness
1 6.1

Surface Forms

pointedness singular
pointednesses plural

Morphology

pointedness = pointed (semi-transparent) = point + ed + ness

Derived from the adjective 'pointed' but the figurative meaning (directed/critical) is a pragmatic extension that may not be predictable from the physical sense alone for some learners.

Etymology

Pointedness also comes from point, which can mean to 'aim' or 'direct' at something, like when you point your finger at a person. So the pointedness of a remark is its sharp, direct aim at someone or something.