identicalness

identicalness — noun

1. the condition in which two or more things share every feature, with no differenc

1.nounC2
Definition

the condition in which two or more things share every feature, with no difference between them at all

Example

Mateo was struck by the identicalness of the twin sisters' handwriting.

identicalness of + plural noun phrase

Roya held up the two keys and laughed at their identicalness.

Common collocations
  • striking identicalness
  • near identicalness
  • complete identicalness
  • identicalness of
  • identicalness between
Synonyms
  • sameness

    more common and less formal; can suggest monotony

  • indistinguishability

    more technical; stresses that items cannot be told apart

  • uniformity

    emphasises consistency across a group rather than between two items

Antonyms

Usage Note

Less common in everyday speech than 'sameness' or 'similarity'; used mainly in formal or literary contexts to emphasise absolute lack of difference.

Common Mistakes

The identicalness of the suspect was confirmed.
The identity of the suspect was confirmed.
'identicalness' means exact sameness between things; 'identity' means who or what someone is.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Identicalness emphasises a complete, point-for-point match between two or more things — as if they were copies of each other. Sameness is the everyday alternative but carries a weaker sense of exactness and can imply boredom ('the sameness of daily routine'). Indistinguishability is more technical and stresses the practical impossibility of telling items apart, often used in philosophy or science. Uniformity describes consistent sameness across a whole set ('uniformity of standards'), not just between a pair. Identity overlaps but primarily means 'who someone is'; using it to mean sameness ('identity of interests') sounds dated or philosophical. Choose identicalness when you want to underline that there is literally no difference at all — as in 'the identicalness of the forged signature and the real one.'

sameness ↗indistinguishabilityuniformity ↗identity ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

Phrases

  • a striking identicalness
  • near identicalness

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Formed from identical (from Latin idem 'the same') plus the noun-forming suffix -ness. First appeared in English in the early 19th century as a formal alternative to sameness.

First known use

1677

1677, in the meaning defined above