Narrowness Meaning
/nˈɛroʊnəs/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe state of being narrow.
nounA constriction; a narrow passage or place; an instance or aspect of being narrow, or having a limited scope or extent.
Sentence Examples
The narrowness of the road caused congestion.
The narrowness of the mind is a limitation.
The narrowness of the street made parking very difficult.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of the cave entrance made it hard for the explorers to get inside.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The extreme ____ of the bridge made it impossible for two large cars to pass each other at the same time, so one had to wait for the other.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English narwenesse; equivalent to narrow + -ness.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"presently, then, I felt the stiff insertion between the yielding, divided lips of the wound, now open for life; where the narrowness no longer put me to intolerable pain, and afforded my lover no more difficulty than what heighten'd his pleasure, in the strict embrace of that tender, warm sheath, round the instrument it was so delicately adjusted to"
— 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
"“You will understand me when I say that it was a deadly life for a girl brought up as I had been. The narrowness, the deadly monotony of it, almost drove me mad.”"
— 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 141:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of the cave entrance made it hard for the explorers to get inside.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The extreme ____ of the bridge made it impossible for two large cars to pass each other at the same time, so one had to wait for the other.