Meanings
plural foreignnesses
- uncountableThe quality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign; exoticness, otherness.
The word “saudade” is being quite misused for what looks like to be a need for adding romantic foreignness to a story or an article.
2019 January 30, Naty, “Dear gringos, the Portuguese word “Saudade” doesn’t mean what you make it sound like”, in Naty's Bookshelf1 more example
The same courteous, automatic greeting […] which by now I understood as a nod to my foreignness, which was obvious to everyone everywhere.
2016, Zadie Smith, Swing Time, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, page 165 - countableA characteristic that indicates foreignness.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe quality of being alien or not native
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 外國特色 /外国特色, 外來性 /外来性
- 外國特色 /外国特色 (wàiguó tèsè)quality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
- 外來性 /外来性 (wàiláixìng)quality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
- 異物性 /异物性 (yìwùxìng)quality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
Czech cizost
- cizostquality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
Finnish vieraus, vierasmaalaisuus
- vierausquality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
- vierasmaalaisuusquality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
French extranéité
- extranéitéquality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
German Fremdheit
- Fremdheitquality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
Greek ξενικότητα
- ξενικότητα (xenikótita)quality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
Portuguese estrangeirismo
- estrangeirismoquality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
Russian чу́ждость
- чу́ждость (čúždostʹ)quality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
Slovak cudzosť
- cudzosťquality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
Spanish ajenidad
- ajenidadquality of being, appearing, or being perceived as foreign
Cite this entry
foreignness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreignness
“foreignness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreignness. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “foreignness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/foreignness.
Source: foreignness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.