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Glite Dictionary
thisness

thisness

9.9
The quality that makes something different from all others
  • noun
  • /ˈðɪs.nəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : esta cualidad
  • When he described his childhood home, he spoke of its thisness, highlighting what made it special to him.

Examples

  • The beauty of a handwritten letter lies in its thisness, reflecting the writer's personality and emotions.

  • The artist captured the thisness of the landscape, making it feel alive and unique.

  • "But it isn't, importantly, the 'thisness' of a this."

    Blog text (23)

  • It brings out the thisness of a that, or the thatness of a this.

    Blog text (23)

  • They seem to know that the object only speaks its haecceitas, its thisness, to the receptive heart.

    Academic text (2017)

Synonyms

individuality
vsthisness
39 4.6

Qualities that make someone or something different from others

focuses on the single defining property rather than overall traits
uniqueness
vsthisness
25 4.1

Being the only one of its kind

refers to the property that makes it uniquely itself
singularity
vsthisness
4 7.7

Being very different from other people or things

refers to the specific property that makes it uniquely itself
selfness
vsthisness
1 8.2

A quality of being a unique person with your own identity

points to the abstract property that makes it uniquely itself
haecceity
vsthisness
  • Specialized
9.9

A quality that makes a person or thing clearly different from all others

is the same idea but expressed in more common language
unicity
vsthisness
9.8

Being the only one of its kind

refers to the underlying property that makes it one of a kind

Surface Forms

thisness singular
thisnesses plural

Morphology

thisness = this (semi-transparent) = this + ness

Formed by the demonstrative 'this' + the productive noun-forming suffix '-ness'; the structure is clear but the abstract, philosophical sense ('haecceity') may not be obvious to average learners.

Etymology

The word thisness is made from this plus the ending -ness, which turns a word into a 'state' or 'quality'. So thisness means the 'quality' that makes something uniquely 'this', the very thing that shows it is itself, just like kindness names the quality of being kind.