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staidness

staidness

8.1
Serious, calm, and dignified behavior
  • noun
  • /ˈsteɪd.nəs/
translation icon : seriedad
  • The staidness of the event was comforting, as everyone wore formal attire and engaged in polite conversation.

Examples

  • She admired the staidness of the professor, who always conducted himself with great dignity during lectures.

  • In contrast to the bright colors around her, the staidness of his outfit made him appear serious and reserved.

  • I liked Sophia's living room—the staidness of it, the good, worn furniture handed down from relatives.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • By the time I was the age Viva was when she dreamed her dream of devastation, the civil rights movement had begun in the South, and a wind of change was blowing despite the staidness and complacency of the 1950s.

    Academic text (1998)

Synonyms

solemnity
vsstaidness
  • Formal
9 7.0

A serious, formal feeling that shows respect

focuses on calm personal dignity rather than formal atmosphere
sedateness
vsstaidness
8.1

Quiet and serious behavior that shows self control

is the identical quality described by another term
solemness
vsstaidness
  • Formal
7.5

A serious and calm way of behaving that shows respect

emphasizes calmness alongside dignity rather than only seriousness

Antonyms

434 1.0

A strong feeling of happiness and eagerness, or something that causes it

3 3.4

A feeling of energy and excitement that makes people active

How Serious

solemnity
  • Formal
9 7.0
gravity
65 6.1
staidness
8.1
calmness
9 2.7
casualness
3 3.7
frivolity
9 6.7

Surface Forms

staidness singular
staidnesses plural

Morphology

staidness = staid (transparent) = staid + ness

Formed by straightforward derivation from the adjective 'staid' with the nominalizing suffix '-ness', so the meaning is directly the quality or state of being staid.

Etymology

Staidness comes from staid, a word tied to stay, which means 'to remain' or 'be settled', and the ending -ness means 'the state of'. So staidness is the state of being calm, serious, and steady.