lateness
/ˈleɪt.nɪs/noun
lateness is spelled L-A-T-E-N-E-S-S: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lateness means “The state of being late” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lateness is latenesses.
How many letters and syllables are in lateness?
| Letters | 8: L-A-T-E-N-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,074th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is lateness?
Lateness appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,074th 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 lateness?
- US /ˈleɪt.nɪs/
- US /ˈleɪt.nəs/
Lateness 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)-Wodencafe-lateness.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lateness
- latenesses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lateness mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The state of being late.
His chronic lateness will cost him a promotion if not his job.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lateness in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense The property of being late:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Verspätung |
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 lateness come from?
From late + -ness.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).