narrowness

noun

"narrowness" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“narrowness” is uncommon English (frequency #76,148 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,148
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being narrow.

Corpus desk

Index EN-narrowness · narrowness · English

narrowness · rank #76,148 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #76,148
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH Nampa

Nearest frequency peer: Nampa (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “narrowness”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “narrowness” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for narrowness
PropertyValue
Headwordnarrowness
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#76,148
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “narrowness” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).narrownessfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “Nampa” (#76,147), “Nascimento” (#76,149), “myopathy” (#76,145). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “narrowness” is #76,148. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

narrowness is uncommon English at frequency #76,148 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

narrowness doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English narwenesse; equivalent to narrow + -ness. The correct English form is narrowness, spelled N-A-R-R-O-W-N-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being narrow.
  2. 2
    A constriction; a narrow passage or place; an instance or aspect of being narrow, or having a limited scope or extent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how narrowness appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. presently, then, I felt the stiff insertion between the yielding, divided lips of the wound, now open for life; where the narrowness no longer put me to intolerable pain, and afforded my lover no more difficulty than what heighten'd his pleasure, in the strict embrace of that tender, warm sheath, round the instrument it was so delicately adjusted to
  2. “You will understand me when I say that it was a deadly life for a girl brought up as I had been. The narrowness, the deadly monotony of it, almost drove me mad.”

Etymology

From Middle English narwenesse; equivalent to narrow + -ness.

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "narrowness"?
"narrowness" is spelled N-A-R-R-O-W-N-E-S-S.
What does "narrowness" mean?
As a noun, "narrowness" means: The state of being narrow.
What is the origin of the word "narrowness"?
From Middle English narwenesse; equivalent to narrow + -ness. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "narrowness", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list