Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state of being sightly; comeliness; pleasing appearance.

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

  • noun The state of being sightly; comeliness; conspicuousness.

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

  • noun The state or condition of being sightly.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

sightly +‎ -ness

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Examples

  • Katy wondered how it happened that the early settlers who laid out Chicago had not bethought themselves to secure this fine water frontage as an ornament to the future city; but Mr. Dayton explained that in the rapid growth of Western towns, things arranged themselves rather than were arranged for, and that the first pioneers had other things to think about than what a New Englander would call "sightliness," -- and Katy could easily believe this to be true.

    Clover Susan Coolidge 1870

  • And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:

    The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete Anonymous

  • Although tired with exertion and worn out with heat, yet beauty leaves not their forms, like the sightliness of the wreaths worn by the celestials although exposed to the Sun.

    The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 3 Books 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 Kisari Mohan [Translator] Ganguli

  • And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:

    The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Old Testament — Part 2 Anonymous

  • And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:

    The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete The Challoner Revision Anonymous

  • And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:

    The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Book 27: Isaias The Challoner Revision

  • The open rack is the best compromise between sightliness and utility, because it is more apt to be used than the more ambitious arrangements with doors.

    The Complete Home Oliver R. [Contributor] Williamson 1907

  • We are not seeking magnificence, but comfort and durability (which are almost always allied), as well as sightliness (which is not always in the combination).

    The Complete Home Oliver R. [Contributor] Williamson 1907

  • We know who our neighbors are to be, the sort of houses and other improvements that will affect the sightliness and value of our own property, and the surroundings that should in some degree govern the style of our abode.

    The Complete Home Oliver R. [Contributor] Williamson 1907

  • Her active young person was modelled on generous lines and, as a rule, clothed in a manner which, if inexpensive, detracted nothing from her conspicuous sightliness.

    The Day of Days An Extravaganza Louis Joseph Vance 1906

Comments

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  • Your sightliness of person may perhaps make some think this alliance disparaging. But I hope you won't put such a personal value upon yourself...

    Mrs. Harlowe to Clarissa Harlowe, Clarissa by Samuel Richardson

    December 5, 2007