Meanings
plural drynesses
- uncountableA lack of moisture.
Dr. Khorana added that this is especially true of cleansers that feature surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate, as this class of ingredients can cause “dryness, irritation and eczema.”
2023 December 6, Jessica DeFino, “Too Many Products Can Stress Out Your Skin. Here’s How to Scale Back.”, in The New York Times - countableuncountableThe degree to which something is dry.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe condition of not containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water)
nounmoderation in or abstinence from alcohol or other drugs
nounobjectivity and detachment
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishdryenesse
- Englishdryness
Inherited from Middle English dryenesse, drynesse; equivalent to dry + -ness.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ξηρότης
- ξηρότης (xērótēs)a lack of moisture
Bengali শোষ
- শোষ (śōś)a lack of moisture
Catalan sequedat, eixutesa
- sequedata lack of moisture
- eixutesaa lack of moisture
- secora lack of moisture
- eixutora lack of moisture
Dutch droogte, droogheid
- droogtea lack of moisture
- droogheida lack of moisture
Esperanto sekeco, sekeco
- sekecoa lack of moisture
- sekecothe degree to which something is dry
Finnish kuivuus, kuivuus
- kuivuusa lack of moisture
- kuivuusthe degree to which something is dry
- kuivuusastethe degree to which something is dry
French siccité, sécheresse
- siccitéa lack of moisture
- sécheressea lack of moisture
- siccitéthe degree to which something is dry
German Trockenheit
- Trockenheita lack of moisture
Hindi रूखापन
- रूखापन (rūkhāpan)a lack of moisture
Italian secchezza
- secchezzaa lack of moisture
Latin siccitās
- siccitāsa lack of moisture
Latvian sausums, sausums
- sausumsa lack of moisture
- sausumsthe degree to which something is dry
Portuguese aridez
- arideza lack of moisture
Romanian uscăciune, ariditate
- uscăciunea lack of moisture
- ariditatea lack of moisture
Russian су́хость, су́хость
- су́хость (súxostʹ)a lack of moisture
- су́хость (súxostʹ)the degree to which something is dry
Spanish sequedad, aridez
- sequedada lack of moisture
- arideza lack of moisture
- enjuteza lack of moisture
- resequedada lack of moisture
- securaa lack of moisture
Thai ความแห้ง
- ความแห้ง (kwaam-hɛ̂ɛng)a lack of moisture
Turkish kuruluk, kuruluk
- kuruluka lack of moisture
- kurulukthe degree to which something is dry
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with dryness
Anagrams
Cite this entry
dryness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dryness
“dryness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dryness. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dryness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dryness.
Source: dryness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.