What does outgoingness mean?
Outgoingness describes the quality of being comfortable, friendly, and sociable with other people. It can refer to a person's general manner or to the way they behave in a particular social setting, such as a party, interview, or team meeting. The word is often associated with warmth, confidence, and an ease in starting conversations or making others feel welcome. It can also carry a mildly critical implication when a person is described as excessively outgoing or unable to restrain their sociability. As a countable abstraction, outgoingness is less common than as an uncountable quality: people are usually described as having considerable outgoingness or showing great outgoingness. Related words include outgoing, an adjective meaning sociable or friendly, and extroversion, a more technical term associated with a personality dimension involving sociability and a preference for stimulation. Outgoingness is a useful word when the focus is on a person's visible social manner rather than on a complex psychological classification.
nounOutgoingness is the quality of being friendly, sociable, and comfortable interacting with other people. It describes a person's manner, especially their ease in social situations.
- The quality of being outgoing: sociable, friendly, and confident in the company of others.
"Her outgoingness made it easy for her to welcome new members to the club."
"The candidate's outgoingness helped her connect quickly with the audience."
"His outgoingness was most evident at parties, where he introduced people to one another."
Rare; the word is normally used as an uncountable noun.
"The two performers brought very different outgoingnesses to the event."
Outgoingness turns a room of strangers into a group of people who already feel like acquaintances.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does outgoingness come from?
Outgoingness was formed in English by adding the suffix -ness to outgoing. Outgoing combines the prefix out- with going and ultimately draws on the Old English verb gān, meaning 'to go,' with the idea of moving outward or toward others. The related noun outgo refers to expenditure or a departing cargo, reflecting the same historical combination of outward movement with going.
Related word forms
How outgoingness is actually used
Outgoingness is generally neutral or positive. It is usually an uncountable noun, and it is commonly used for someone's manner rather than as a formal psychological diagnosis.
Easily confused with outgoingness
Outgoingness usually describes a person's visible social manner, while extroversion more often names a broader personality trait associated with seeking stimulation and enjoying social company.