Standard Lemma guide

neatness

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: N IY1 T N AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The state of being neat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the trait of being neat and orderly

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tidiness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cleanliness

3

noun

Meaning 3

the state of being neat and smart and trim

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: spruceness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: tidiness

Narrower terms: trim, trimness

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English neat Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English neatness From neat + -ness.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Old Armenian: գեղեցկութիւն (gełecʻkutʻiwn) — the state of being neat
  • Bashkir: тәртип (tərtip) — the state of being neat
  • French: netteté — the state of being neat
  • Georgian: აკურატულობა (aḳuraṭuloba) — the state of being neat
  • Hungarian: ápoltság — the state of being neat
  • Hungarian: csín — the state of being neat
  • Irish: ordúlacht — the state of being neat
  • Irish: slacht — the state of being neat
  • Italian: pulizia — the state of being neat
  • Latin: nitor — the state of being neat
  • Latin: munditia — the state of being neat
  • Latvian: glītums — the state of being neat
  • Lithuanian: tvarkingùmas — the state of being neat
  • Manx: lhomid — the state of being neat
  • Occitan: netetat — the state of being neat
  • Portuguese: asseio — the state of being neat
  • Scottish Gaelic: sgiobaltachd — the state of being neat
  • Spanish: pulcritud — the state of being neat