speechlessness
English edit
Etymology edit
speechless + -ness
Noun edit
speechlessness (plural speechlessnesses)
- The state of being speechless.
- 1907, Barbara Baynton, edited by Sally Krimmer and Alan Lawson, Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton), St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, published 1980, page 233:
- 'No - rather not, my dear? Well, another night,' he said, hastily translating her speechlessness.
- 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1965, →OCLC, page 16:
- It was her virtue to be tall, pale, characterless and effaced by partial speechlessness.
Usage notes edit
- Plural is rare.
Translations edit
state of being speechless
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