coolness
/ˈkuːlnəs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.82 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Conflict or hostility or an instance of such that stands in contrast to expected friendliness or interest.
Countable; Dated
noun
Indifference or an instance of indifference; lack of friendliness or interest not necessarily rising to hostility.
Uncountable
noun
Social advantage or enviability, typically due to traits like popularity, confidence, skill, or fashion.
Slang; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "I know a place of all sweet coolnesses; / a little island, like an emerald, set / in the clear argent of a river, that is / Itself a shining net"
- "Surely there is between human kind and trees a kinship immemorial, antedating the fret and fever of the nerves, bringing old coolnesses to serve as refuge, making us know the time when spring was no torment, autumn no regret."
- "De Coude was the personification of coolness—was he not the best shot in France?"
- "Luckily for England, they have a world-class striker with a golden touch in [Harry] Kane, who was coolness personified to carefully direct in the winner."
- "In the midst of enemies, Irish and English, Court treacheries and coolnesses, Strafford depended solely upon Laud, and no one other support."
- ""These things are certainly very annoying," said Belinda. "I've often experienced similar affairs. But, in my case, no doubt they were explainable. My tongue does run away with me sometimes," she concluded, with an engaging smile. I laughed. Belinda and her friends and coolnesses were a standing joke."
Etymology
From Middle English colnes, colnesse, from Old English cōlnes, cœ̄lnes, cēlnes (“coolness; cool air, breeze”), from Proto-West Germanic *kōlinassī, equivalent to cool + -ness. Cognate with Middle High German kuolnisse, küelnisse (“cooling, coolness”).