What does feelingness mean?
"Feelingness" is a rare English noun denoting the quality or state of being full of feeling — an acute emotional sensitivity or receptiveness to experience. Formed transparently from the everyday words "feeling" and the suffix "-ness", which turns adjectives and participles into abstract nouns, it names not the emotions themselves but the underlying capacity to have them deeply. A person described as having feelingness is emotionally open, perceptive, and easily moved. Because the word is absent from most standard dictionaries, it reads as literary or even invented, and writers generally reach for more common alternatives such as sensitivity, emotionality, or responsiveness in ordinary prose. Yet this rarity gives feelingness a certain charm: it can capture, in a single word, the idea of a heart that registers everything. It is best used sparingly, in reflective or poetic writing, where its gentle, transparent construction — meaning exactly what it appears to mean — can be appreciated without confusion.
nounThe quality or state of being full of feeling; emotional sensitivity or receptiveness. It denotes a pronounced capacity to feel, whether emotionally or physically.
- The state or quality of being full of feeling; emotional sensitivity or receptiveness.
- A heightened awareness of physical sensation or tactile perception.
"Her poetry is marked by an unusual feelingness, an openness to every shade of emotion."
"Her poetry is admired for its raw feelingness."
"After the accident he slowly recovered the feelingness in his fingertips."
Almost never used; the noun is nearly always treated as uncountable since it names an abstract quality.
"Such feelingnesses are hard to put into words."
"Feelingness" never caught on the way its cousins "lovingness" or "willingness" did — it survives as one of English's rare, almost secret abstract nouns.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of feelingness
"Feelingness" is formed within English from "feeling" — the noun derived from the verb "feel" — combined with the native Germanic suffix "-ness", which creates abstract nouns of state or quality. The verb "feel" itself descends from Old English "fēlan", of uncertain ultimate origin but shared with related forms in other Germanic languages, such as German "fühlen" and Dutch "voelen". The word has always been marginal in English, never entering general dictionaries, and remains a literary curiosity rather than a term of common use.
How feelingness is actually used
"Feelingness" is a rare and somewhat literary word; it does not appear in most standard dictionaries and is best reserved for expressive or poetic contexts where "sensitivity" or "emotionality" would feel too clinical. It carries a positive or neutral connotation of emotional openness.
Easily confused with feelingness
"Feelings" is the ordinary plural noun referring to emotions themselves, while "feelingness" is a rarer abstract noun denoting the quality or capacity of having feelings.