openness

O1P3E1N1N1E1S1S1

noun

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see open, -ness.

Opposite
Less commonScrabble 10

Meanings

nounopenness (usually uncountable, plural opennesses)

plural opennesses

  1. uncountableusuallyUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see open, -ness.
  2. uncountableusuallyAccommodating attitude or opinion, as in receptivity to new ideas, behaviors, cultures, peoples, environments, experiences, etc., different from the familiar, conventional, traditional, or one's own.

    Francis riled conservative cardinals with his compassion for migrants and refugees, openness towards LGBTQ+ Catholics and demands for action on the climate crisis.

    2025 May 8, Angela Giuffrida and Harriet Sherwood, “White smoke from Sistine Chapel chimney signals election of new pope”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 11 Jun 2025
    1 more example

    Getting iced out by the tech giants turned Parler into a cause célèbre for conservatives who complained they were being censored, as well as a test case for the openness of the internet.

    2021 February 15, Jack Nicas, “Parler, a Social Network That Attracted Trump Fans, Returns Online”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 19 Feb 2021

    Synonyms: open-mindedness, approachability

  3. uncountableusuallyThe degree to which a person, group, organization, institution, or society exhibits this liberal attitude or opinion.
  4. uncountableusuallyLack of secrecy; candour, transparency.

    "Instead of openness, there was the cunning tactics of cover-up and a complete failure by General De Chastelain to deal with the vital numerics of decommissioning," said Ian Paisley, 79, the Protestant preacher who heads the Democratic Unionists, Northern Ireland's largest party.

    2005 September 27, Brian Lavery, “I.R.A. Destroys What It Says Were the Last of Its Weapons”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 07 May 2021
  5. uncountableusuallycomputingThe degree of accessibility to view, use, and modify in a shared environment with legal rights generally held in common and preventing proprietary restrictions on the right of others to continue viewing, using, modifying and sharing.
  6. uncountableusuallymathematicsThe degree to which a system operates with distinct boundaries across which exchange occurs capable of inducing change in the system while maintaining the boundaries themselves.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAccommodating attitude or opinion, as in receptivity to new ideas, behaviors, cultures, peoples, environments, experiences, etc., different from the familiar, conventional, traditional, or one's own.

More synonyms by meaning

nouncharacterized by an attitude of ready accessibility (especially about one's actions or purposes); without concealment; not secretive

Similar
Opposite

nounwillingness or readiness to receive (especially impressions or ideas)

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishopenness“openness, publicity”
  2. Middle English*opennesse
  3. Englishopenness

From Middle English *opennesse, from Old English openness (“openness, publicity”), equivalent to open + -ness. Cognate with Old High German offannussi (“disclosure, revelation, openness”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian откритост, откровеност
  • откритост (otkritost)accommodating attitude or opinion
  • откровеност (otkrovenost)lack of secrecy, transparency
Czech otevřenost
  • otevřenostaccommodating attitude or opinion
Finnish avoimuus, aukeus
  • avoimuusbeing open
  • aukeusbeing open
  • avoimuusaccommodating attitude or opinion
  • avoimuuslack of secrecy, transparency
  • läpinäkyvyyslack of secrecy, transparency
  • avoimuuscomputing: degree of accessibility
  • avoimuussystems theory: degree to which exchange occurs
  • avoimuusdegree to this attitude is exhibited
Greek ανοικτότητα, ανοιχτότητα
  • ανοικτότητα (anoiktótita)accommodating attitude or opinion
  • ανοιχτότητα (anoichtótita)accommodating attitude or opinion
  • ανοικτότητα (anoiktótita)degree to this attitude is exhibited
Hebrew פתיחות
  • פתיחות (ptiḥut)accommodating attitude or opinion
Irish oscailteacht
  • oscailteachtaccommodating attitude or opinion
Italian apertura, trasparenza
  • aperturaaccommodating attitude or opinion
  • trasparenzalack of secrecy, transparency
  • aperturacomputing: degree of accessibility
Norwegian Bokmål åpenhet
  • åpenhetaccommodating attitude or opinion
Russian открытость
  • открытость (otkrytostʹ)accommodating attitude or opinion
Spanish apertura
  • aperturaaccommodating attitude or opinion
Swahili uwazi
  • uwazilack of secrecy, transparency
Swedish öppenhet
  • öppenhetaccommodating attitude or opinion
Tagalog labusaw
  • labusawaccommodating attitude or opinion
Ukrainian відвертість
  • відвертість (vidvertistʹ)accommodating attitude or opinion
Cite this entry
APA

openness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/openness

MLA

“openness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/openness. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “openness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/openness.

Source: openness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.