Meanings
nounsetness (countable and uncountable, plural setnesses)
plural setnesses
- countableuncountableThe quality or state of being set; formality; obstinacy.
the starched setness of a sententious writer
1884, Robert Masters, Memoirs […] of Thomas Baker1 more example
They who had shrugged their shoulders at her little peculiarities and setnesses […] acknowledged that now she was the exact person that was wanted.
1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Boston, Mass.: John P[unchard] Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Oh.: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, published 20 March 1852, →OCLC
Origin
From set + -ness. Not apparently continuing Old English setnes and Middle English setnesse, which are morphologically identical. First attested in the 1640s.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
setness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/setness
MLA
“setness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/setness. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “setness,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/setness.
Source: setness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.