openness - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

WordReference.com English Dictionary

openness:

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Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
open/ˈəʊpən/

▶adjective

1 allowing access, passage, or view; not closed, fastened, or restricted.

2 exposed to the air or to view or attack; not covered or protected: an open boat.
■ (of land) not covered with buildings or trees.

■ (open to) vulnerable or subject to.

■ (of a town or city) officially declared to be undefended, and so immune under international law from bombardment.

3 spread out or unfolded.
■ (of a book) with the covers parted and able to be read.

4 admitting customers or visitors; available for business.
■ freely available or accessible.

■ (of an offer or opportunity) still available.

5 frank and communicative.
■ not concealed; manifest.

■ welcoming public discussion, criticism, and enquiry: open government.

6 (of a matter) not finally settled.
■ (often open to) receptive to new ideas.

■ (open to) admitting of; making possible.

7 Music (of a string) allowed to vibrate along its whole length.
■ (of a pipe) unstopped at each end.

8 Phonetics (of a vowel) produced with a relatively wide opening of the mouth and the tongue kept low.
■ (of a syllable) ending in a vowel.

9 (of an electric circuit) having a break in the conducting path.

10 (of a fabric) loosely knitted or woven.

▶verb

1 move (a door, window, etc.) so that it is open.
■ undo or remove the cover or fastening of.

■ (open on to/into) (of a door, window, etc.) give access to.

2 unfold or be unfolded; spread out.
■ part the covers of (a book) to read it.

■ (of a prospect) extend into view.

3 make or become open for customers or visitors.
■ ceremonially declare (a building, road, etc.) to be completed and ready for use.

4 formally begin or establish.
■ (open up or open fire) begin shooting.

■ (of a counsel in a law court) make a preliminary statement in (a case) before calling witnesses.

■ Bridge make (the first bid) in the auction.

5 make available or more widely known.
■ (open out/up) become more communicative or confiding.

6 break the conducting path of (an electric circuit).

▶noun

1 (the open) outdoors or in the countryside.
■ (usu. in phr. in/into the open) a lack of concealment or secrecy.

2 (Open) a championship or competition with no restrictions on who may compete.

3 an accidental break in the conducting path for an electric current.

– phrases
the open air an unenclosed space outdoors.
in open court in a court of law, before the judge and the public.
open-and-shut (of a case or argument) admitting no doubt or dispute; straightforward.

– derivatives
openable adjective,
openness noun.

– origin OE open (adj.), openian (v.), of Gmc origin, from the root of the adv. up.

'openness' also found in these Oxford entries:

freedom - gain - glasnost - open - reserve

Forum discussions with the word(s) "openness" in the title:

dispenses with the pretense of openness altogether
openness / closedness
openness to technology
what's the verb of openness??

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