compactness
/kəmˈpæktnəs/ (bre, ipa) · /kəmˈpæktnəs/ (ame, ipa) · /kəm-ˈpakt-nəs (ˈ)käm-¦pakt-/ (ame, mw)
compactness — noun
1. the feature of taking up only a little room, so that something is easy to carry,
the feature of taking up only a little room, so that something is easy to carry, store, or fit into a tight space.
Yael chose the folding bike for its compactness on crowded trains.
noun + 'for its compactness' attributing a product virtue
Reviewers praised the laptop's compactness, since it slipped easily into a thin backpack.
possessive + compactness describing a product feature
The campers loved the stove's compactness because every gram counted on the long hike.
Compactness was the main reason Felix picked the smaller espresso machine for his tiny kitchen.
Engineers at the Osaka studio designed the speaker for compactness without losing sound quality.
- portability
emphasises ease of carrying rather than small size itself
- smallness
purely about size; loses the 'efficient use of space' connotation
- bulkiness
the opposite virtue — takes up too much room
用法筆記
Subject is typically a designed object (device, vehicle, furniture). Frequently appears as 'its compactness' or 'for its compactness' praising a product virtue.
常見錯誤
2. the state in which the parts of something are pressed tightly against each other
the state in which the parts of something are pressed tightly against each other, leaving very little empty space between them.
The compactness of the snow on the mountain made it perfect for building igloos.
'the compactness of [substance]' describing material density
Bao tested the compactness of the soil before planting the tomato seedlings.
The compactness of the forest made it almost impossible for sunlight to reach the ground.
Anya was surprised by the compactness of the crowd at the small concert hall.
Geologists studied the compactness of the rock layers to learn about ancient earthquakes.
- looseness
parts are not pressed together; gaps remain
用法筆記
Subject is usually a mass noun (soil, snow, rock, crowd, forest). Distinguish from sense 1 by the relationship: sense 2 looks INSIDE something at how its parts press together; sense 1 looks at the whole object's small footprint.