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becomingness

becomingness

1 9.9
A way of looking or behaving that is suitable and attractive
  • noun
  • /bɪˈkʌmɪŋnəs/
  • Archaic
translation icon : adecuación
  • He improved his becomingness by adopting a more polished style and paying attention to his grooming.

Examples

  • Her new dress added a sense of becomingness to her overall appearance, making her look both elegant and fashionable.

  • It was now the past that seemed most real, while the future still seemed void, and the present merely the impalpable becomingness of the indestructible past.

    Blog text (5)
  • "Talking points," techniques for addressing individual customers' concerns, treated the last value, becomingness, with circumspection.

    Academic text (1996)
  • One such manual identified the values sought by male customers as serviceability, comfort, style or fashion, appearance ("a look of good quality"), a trade name, and becomingness.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Advertisements for men's clothes, like the floorwalker or sales assistant of the department store and retail shop, emphasized the other talking points, leaving becomingness to the eye.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Unable to confess a personal interest in his appearance with regard to clothing—in other words, its becomingness—the customer ascribes responsibility for it elsewhere: he "frequently says his wife or mother does not like a certain thing on him."

    Academic text (1996)
  • The artist's use of color in the painting enhances its becomingness, making it appealing to viewers.

Synonyms

good looks
vsbecomingness
58 1.7

An attractive face and appearance people notice

stresses appropriate overall appearance rather than only pleasing facial features
attractiveness
vsbecomingness
  • NSFW
19 3.2

The quality that makes people notice and like someone's looks or character

emphasizes suitability and proper appearance rather than just general appeal
loveliness
vsbecomingness
11 2.0

A pleasing, beautiful look that makes people admire it

means suitable or appropriate appearance and manner, not just beauty
handsomeness
vsbecomingness
3 3.2

The quality of having a good-looking face, often in a man

highlights suitable or proper appearance across situations rather than male facial features
gorgeousness
vsbecomingness
1 3.9

A state of being very beautiful or attractive

prefers moderate suitability and appropriateness over extreme showy beauty
comeliness
vsbecomingness
  • Archaic
1 8.4

Physical beauty that is pleasant to look at

emphasizes suitability and manner in addition to mere pleasant looks
beauteousness
vsbecomingness
  • Archaic
1 8.4

How beautiful something looks

focuses on appropriateness and fitting manner beyond pure beauty
appealingness
vsbecomingness
6.3

The quality of being attractive and making people want something

focuses on fitting and appropriate appearance rather than arousing interest
desirableness
vsbecomingness
5.6

The quality that makes people want something

highlights suitability and proper fit rather than simple being wanted
winsomeness
vsbecomingness
8.0

A charming, innocent quality that makes someone seem friendly

places emphasis on fitting or appropriate manner rather than simple charm

Antonyms

A state in which something is not right for a particular use or situation

The way something looks when people do not find it pleasing

9.1

The quality of being inappropriate in behavior or appearance

How Appropriate

becomingness
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Surface Forms

becomingness singular

Morphology

becomingness = becoming (transparent) = becoming + ness

Formed by straightforward nominalization of the adjective 'becoming' with the productive suffix '-ness', so the meaning is directly the quality of being becoming.

Etymology

Becomingness comes from becoming, which comes from become, a verb that once meant 'to come to' or 'to suit'. Think of a dress that 'becomes' someone — it fits and looks right, so becomingness is the quality of being suitable or attractive.