Goodness
intj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 The state or characteristic of being good. uncountable
"There is ſome ſoule of goodneſſe in things euill, / VVould men obſeruingly 'diſtill it out."
- 2 moral excellence or admirableness wordnet
- 3 The good, nutritional, healthy part or content of something. countable
- 4 that which is pleasing or valuable or useful wordnet
- 5 God. euphemistic, uncountable
"Thank goodness that the war is over!"
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- 6 The moral qualities which constitute Christian excellence; moral virtue. countable, uncountable
"But the fruit of the ſpirit is loue, ioy, peace, long ſuffering, gentleneſſe, goodneſſe, faith, / Meekeneſſe, temperance: againſt ſuch there is no law."
- 1 Clipping of goodness me or various similar exclamations such as goodness gracious. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping
Example
More examples"Thank goodness, you've come to."
Etymology
From Middle English goodnesse, godnesse, from Old English gōdnes (“goodness; virtue; kindness”), from Proto-West Germanic *gōdnassī (“goodness”), equivalent to good + -ness. Cognate with Scots guidness (“goodness”), West Frisian goedens (“goodness”), Old High German guotnessī (“goodness”), Middle High German guotnisse (“goodness”), Russian годность (godnostʹ, “suitability, fitness”).
Related phrases
More for "goodness"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.