Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state of being busy or actively employed. See business, 1.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun the state of being or appearing to be actively engaged in an activity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun US The state of being busy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the state of being or appearing to be actively engaged in an activity

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From busy +‎ -ness. Compare business.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word busyness.

Examples

  • "busiest" of my life, if "busyness" is measured by external lectures, talks, seminars, conferences, and miles traveled.

    Notes on Nobelity 2001

  • Truth is, much of the reason for my busyness is my woefully inefficient use of time.

    Archive 2008-01-01 Joyful Fox 2008

  • Truth is, much of the reason for my busyness is my woefully inefficient use of time.

    Plan "A" or Plan "B"? It's My Choice. Susan 2008

  • This worried busyness, which is a characteristic of the more mediocre of my own countrymen also, is really a symptom of deficient vitality.

    Germany and the Germans From an American Point of View Price Collier 1886

  • Based on this dubious proposition, the researchers bizarrely advocate what they call "futile busyness, namely, busyness serving no purpose other than to prevent idleness."

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Michael Sigman 2011

  • The first time I heard about WoW in 2005 or maybe 2004 - it was in the beta, and level cap was 20 - that the nice thing about WoW is that you can sit around fishing and have a conversation without this "busyness" of getting things done.

    I want to fall in love again 2010

  • Well, as someone who is "busy, busy," I can tell you that "busyness" is often a form of distraction, keeping you from mulling the important things.

    Vicky Ward: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Supermodel 2008

  • The subtle or not so subtle spiritual pride that causes us to look down on a brother or sister in Christ, the feelings of anger and offense at some perceived slight, the "busyness" that keeps us from choosing the work God most wants us to accomplish.

    Archive 2007-12-01 Heidi Hess Saxton 2007

  • The subtle or not so subtle spiritual pride that causes us to look down on a brother or sister in Christ, the feelings of anger and offense at some perceived slight, the "busyness" that keeps us from choosing the work God most wants us to accomplish.

    Death of Evel Heidi Hess Saxton 2007

  • But there's also that enemy of fear, and the enemy of vengeance, and the enemy of arrogance of power, and the enemy of "busyness" and the assumed responsibility that keeps us away from our children, keeps us thinking we don't have time for solitude, and estranges us one from another.

    CNN Transcript Oct 12, 2002 2002

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.