fairness
/ˈfɛɚ.nəs/noun
fairness is spelled F-A-I-R-N-E-S-S: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fairness means “The property of being fair or equitable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of fairness is fairnesses.
How many letters and syllables are in fairness?
| Letters | 8: F-A-I-R-N-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 5.9 times per million words; the 10,028th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is fairness?
Fairness appears 5.9 times per million words in written English, the 10,028th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce fairness?
- UK /ˈfɛə.nəs/
- US /ˈfɛɚ.nəs/
- Australia /ˈfeː.nəs/
Fairness has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-fairness.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with fairness?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as fairness from its last stressed vowel (/ɛəɹnəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of fairness
- fairnesses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does fairness mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The property of being fair or equitable.
Some questioned the fairness of the new laws.
- 2
archaicThe property of being fair or beautiful.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Fairness in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense property of being just, equitable:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | justice |
| Portuguese | imparcialidade |
| Spanish | imparcialidad, equidad, ecuanimidad |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does fairness come from?
From Middle English fairness, fæȝernesse, from Old English fæġernes (“fairness; beauty; pleasantness”), equivalent to fair + -ness. Cognate with Old High German fagarnessi (“fairness”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).