shortness
noun
shortness is spelled S-H-O-R-T-N-E-S-S: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shortness means “The property of being short, of being small of stature or brief” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shortness is shortnesses.
How many letters and syllables are in shortness?
| Letters | 9: S-H-O-R-T-N-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 33,636th 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 shortness?
Shortness appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 33,636th 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 shortness?
Shortness 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).
Forms of shortness
- shortnesses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shortness mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The property of being short, of being small of stature or brief.
the shortness of a stubby pencil
- 2
The result or product of being short.
- 3
The property of being short or terse.
I was chastened by the shortness of her reply.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Shortness in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense The property of being short, of being small of stature or brief:
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 shortness come from?
From Middle English schortnesse, from Old English sċortnes, sċeortnys, equivalent to short + -ness.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).