pastness
noun
past·ness
ˈpas(t)-nəs 
1
: the quality or state of being past
2
: the subjective quality of something being remembered rather than immediately experienced
almost any popular record … is apt to be tinged with pastness—
Roy McMullen
Roy McMullen
Examples of pastness in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This novel, hovering somewhere between the older epistolary structure and pure dramatic monologue—between correspondence and a playscript—becomes magically liberated from the more burdensome narrative machinery, that wheezing apparatus of persuasion and pastness.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 1 June 2020
The extraordinary pastness of our story results from its having taken place before a certain turning point, on the far side of a rift that has cut deeply through our lives and our consciousness.
—David Treuer, The New York Review of Books, 6 July 2020
James Wood, The New Yorker, 1 June 2020
The extraordinary pastness of our story results from its having taken place before a certain turning point, on the far side of a rift that has cut deeply through our lives and our consciousness.
—David Treuer, The New York Review of Books, 6 July 2020
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pastness.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1829, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near pastness
Cite this Entry
“Pastness.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pastness. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
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