rightness means the characteristic of being right; correctness. It carries an Arena rating of 1275, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, rightness ranks #3,195 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #8,526 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #9,143 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #10,187 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
Why “rightness” is a great word
The quality or state of being correct, just, or appropriate. From Middle English rightnesse, from Old English rihtnes ("rightness, justice"), from Proto-West Germanic *rehtanassī ("rightness, justice"), equivalent to right + -ness. Unlike "righteousness," which is sanctified virtue, or "accuracy," which is measurable conformity, rightness is a more philosophical alignment. It is the satisfying click of a well-made bolt sliding home, the undeniable equilibrium of a proved equation, and the profound silence that follows a sentence of unquestionable truth—the quiet assurance that a thing is, irrevocably, as it should be.
Etymology
From Middle English rightnesse, riȝtnesse, rihtnesse, from Old English rihtnes, rehtnis, from Proto-West Germanic *rehtanassī (“rightness, justice”), equivalent to right + -ness. Cognate with West Frisian rjochtens (“rightness”), Middle Dutch rechtenesse (“rightness, justification”), Old High German rehtnissa (“justice”).
noun
- The characteristic of being right; correctness.
- The result or product of being right; something correct.
- The property of being on, or moving toward, the right.e.g.“I think we are inclined to think the leftness and rightness can be represented because there is a word in our language that means left, and another that means right, and we understand those words.” — 1996, Robert Cummins, Representations, Targets, and Attitudes, page 105:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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