Peacefulness

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A state of calm tranquility and freedom from disturbance, conflict, or agitation
2. A quality characterized by serenity, harmony, and an absence of turmoil or tension in one's surroundings or inner self
3. The condition of being free from stress, anxiety, or conflict, fostering a serene and harmonious environment

Etymology: "Peacefulness" is a plain English compound: the adjective "peaceful" with the suffix "-ness" attached. That suffix is the older and more productive of the two, descending from Old English "-nes," which was used to turn adjectives into nouns of quality, so that "good" became "goodness" and "dark" became "darkness." The suffix has been in the language since Old English, and its ancestry runs back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic forms, but its job has stayed the same throughout: it names the condition or quality an adjective describes. "Peaceful" is itself built from "peace" and the adjectival suffix "-ful," meaning full of. So the word is layered: peace, plus the sense of being full of it, plus the sense of the state of being so. Each layer added a concrete step, and the result describes a state of calm that can be felt as a condition rather than an event.

Synonyms: tranquility, calmness, serenity, quietness, harmony

Antonyms: turmoil, chaos, disturbance, conflict, anxiety