commonness

English

Etymology

common +‎ -ness

Noun

commonness (countable and uncountable, plural commonnesses)

1. The quality of being common in the sense of ordinary, usual or mundane.
   • 2023, Brandon Taylor, The Late Americans, Jonathan Cape, page 261:

     So she is returning to her parents, where she will work at a corner store and save up money to move to New York. The commonness is so maddening to her. Everyone moves to New York.

2. The quality of being common in the sense of vulgar, coarse or low class.
   • 1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Virago Press (2018), page 142:

     ‘Dem wuzn’t no high muckty mucks. Dem wuz railroad hands and dey womenfolks. You ain’t usetuh folks lak dat and Ah wuz skeered you might git all mad and quit me for takin’ you ’mongst ’em […] Befo’ us got married Ah made up mah mind not tuh let you see no commonness in me.’

Synonyms

• generality; see also Thesaurus:commonness

Antonyms

• exception