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unevenness
/ʌnˈiːvənnəs/
lack of uniformity
The unevenness of the road made driving difficult.
The road was not smooth, making it hard to drive.
neutral
the state or quality of being uneven; not smooth, flat, or regular
The unevenness of the fabric made it unsuitable for formal wear.
The fabric had an irregular texture, which was not appropriate for formal clothing.
The unevenness of the exam scores raised concerns about fairness.
The wide variation in exam results suggested potential issues with the assessment process.
Can refer to physical surfaces, distributions, or abstract qualities like fairness.
Collocations
uneven surfacea surface that is not smooth or flatuneven distributionan irregular or inconsistent spread of somethinguneven performanceinconsistent or varying results
Pro Tip
Avoid confusion with 'un-evenness'
The correct spelling is 'unevenness' (one 'n'), not 'un-evenness'. The hyphen is unnecessary.
Gold Rule
Use 'unevenness' for physical and abstract irregularities
Apply this word to both tangible surfaces (e.g., 'the unevenness of the pavement') and intangible distributions (e.g., 'the unevenness of the workload').
Word Origin
From Middle English 'uneven' (uneven) + '-ness' (suffix forming abstract nouns). The word 'uneven' derives from Old English 'un-' (not) + 'efen' (even, level).
Usage Notes
Common in contexts describing physical surfaces (e.g., roads, fabrics) or abstract concepts (e.g., performance, distribution). Often implies a negative connotation, suggesting a problem or flaw.
Word Breakdown
un-
not
prefixeven
level or smooth
root-ness
state or quality of
suffixEnglish Dictionary