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compactness

compactness

1 4.4
How closely things are packed so they take little space
  • noun
  • /kəmˈpæktnəs/
translation icon : compactación
  • The compactness of the new smartphone makes it easy to carry in my pocket.
  • greater compactness

There's a culture that prizes compactness.

Examples

  • Obviously, the compactness of MIDI files makes MIDI an attractive option for online delivery of audio information.

    Academic text (1999)
  • One of the most striking features of the extant Islendingabok is its compactness.

    Academic text (1997)
  • However, this does not mean that the real compactness of the model becomes worse.

    Academic text (2018)
  • Right now you have YouTube, you have Duo for split screen stuff, but really it's about the compactness of the form factor.

  • Why are you considering switching to mirrorless if compactness is not your priority?

    Blog text (24)
  • Dad had a particular aversion to extravagance and insisted on the compactness of the things around him.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Chekhov once advised another writer that his works lacked the "compactness that makes short things alive" (Letters on the Short Story 82).

    Academic text (1993)
  • The initial ELSY design efforts demonstrate the great potential for system simplification and compactness that is characteristic of lead-cooled reactor systems.

    Academic text (2009)
  • The ideal blue laser source, from the viewpoint of compactness and direct modulation capability, would be a semiconductor laser diode.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Engineers designed the compactness of the building to maximize space efficiency.

Synonyms

concentration
vscompactness
115 3.5

A large number of people or things gathered in one place

describes the static state of being tightly packed rather than the action of gathering
density
vscompactness
55 4.2

How full a place is of people or things

refers more to the objects being tightly packed and taking less space
tightness
vscompactness
1 3.6

A state of having little space or being held firmly

focuses on how closely things pack together rather than on restriction or firmness
denseness
vscompactness
4.3

How closely things are packed together, for example in a crowd or forest

emphasizes how much space they take up rather than mere crowding

Antonyms

1 4.1

The feeling that a room or building is large and has plenty of space

How Compact

density
123 4.1
tightness
1 3.6
compactness
1 4.4
spaciousness
1 4.1

Surface Forms

compactness singular
compactnesses plural

Morphology

compactness = compact (transparent) = compact + ness

A straightforward nominalization: the adjective 'compact' + '-ness' yields the state or quality of being compact.

Etymology

Compactness comes from compact, which has the part com- meaning 'together' and is like the everyday word pack. So compactness is the quality of being tightly 'packed' together, which is why it means being dense or taking little space.