Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state or quality of being fine, in any sense.
  • noun Specifically, the quantity of pure metal in alloys expressed by number of parts in 1,000.
  • noun Finesse; subtlety.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality or condition of being fine.
  • noun Freedom from foreign matter or alloy; clearness; purity.
  • noun The proportion of pure silver or gold in jewelry, bullion, or coins.
  • noun Keenness or sharpness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The ratio, in a precious metal, of the primary metal to any additives or impurities.
  • noun The ratio of a ship's length to her beam.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the quality of being very good indeed
  • noun the quality of being beautiful and delicate in appearance
  • noun having a very fine texture
  • noun the property of being very narrow or thin

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

fine +‎ -ness

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Examples

  • The very slender base, despite of an apparent fragility and fineness, is solid and resistant thanks to a special tempering treatment of the glass.

    Oscar Glass Table by Piero Lissoni 2009

  • The very slender base, despite of an apparent fragility and fineness, is solid and resistant thanks to a special tempering treatment of the glass.

    Tobiano Golf Clubhouse by a|k|a Architecture 2009

  • But in the process of recalibrating to go after Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, the Jetta loses a certain German fineness and desirability.

    Volkswagen and the Perils of Less for Less 2010

  • When buying soft luggage, check the denier of a fabric, a measurement that refers to the fineness of the yarn.

    How To Buy & Sell just about Everything Jeff Wuorio 2003

  • When buying soft luggage, check the denier of a fabric, a measurement that refers to the fineness of the yarn.

    How To Buy & Sell just about Everything Jeff Wuorio 2003

  • When buying soft luggage, check the denier of a fabric, a measurement that refers to the fineness of the yarn.

    How To Buy & Sell just about Everything Jeff Wuorio 2003

  • The only thing that ever made his heart laugh was the idea of fineness finding place in himself.

    This Is the End Stella Benson 1912

  • The size of the grounds, called the fineness of the grind, is determined how long the cutting blades are allowed to chop up the beans.

    INeedCoffee 2010

  • Soul and body were not thought to be radically different in kind; their difference seemed just to consist in a difference in degree of properties such as fineness and mobility.

    Ancient Theories of Soul Lorenz, Hendrik 2009

  • It can be said that the unconscious states in question lack the kind of fineness of grain and richness of content necessary to count as genuinely perceptual states.

    Higher-Order Theories of Consciousness Carruthers, Peter 2007

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