facelessness means the state or condition of being faceless. It carries an Arena rating of 1394, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, facelessness ranks #1,266 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #2,654 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #4,618 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #7,715 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
Why “facelessness” is a great word
The state or condition of lacking a face, identity, or distinguishing individual characteristics. From faceless (from face, meaning 'countenance, front part of the head' + -less, meaning 'without') + -ness, a suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a state or condition; first recorded in use in 1568. Unlike 'anonymity,' which denotes being unknown by name, or 'obscurity,' which implies a lack of fame or clarity, facelessness is a more profound effacement, the removal of the very attributes that constitute a self. It is the blank visor of a riot trooper, the identical cubicles stretching into a corporate horizon, and the standardized headstone in a mass grave—the human shape stripped of its story until only a function remains, the final victory of the collective over the singular human soul.
Etymology
From faceless + -ness.
noun
- The state or condition of being faceless.e.g.“He was a big man and looked terrifying in his armour and facelessness because of the helmet and vizor.” — 1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 71:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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