readiness

noun

read·i·ness | \ˈre-dē-nəs

Definition of readiness

: the quality or state of being ready: such as

a : a state of preparation As Apollo approached readiness, a new system for validating flight hardware came into use.— William Hines … conditions that prevented all regiments being brought to battle readiness simultaneously …— Graham A. Cosmas Pym presented himself at the entrance to the school drive in readiness for Mr. Cudlove's arrival.— John Le Carré

b : prompt willingness Kostunica has already expressed his readiness to talk with independence-minded leaders in Montenegro …— Joshua Hammer et al. Civil War reportage owed its successes also to the readiness of the military to accept photography as a new visual tool …— Naomi Rosenblum

c : ease, facility The introduction was followed up on his side by a happy readiness of conversation— Jane Austen

Examples of readiness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By the year 2000, more than half of kids that age attended schools that stressed social skills and self-control as cornerstones of educational readiness. — Melissa Healy, latimes.com, "The surprising thing the 'marshmallow test' reveals about kids in an instant-gratification world," 26 June 2018 For high schools, the ERP Honor Roll recognition also includes measures of college readiness. — Staff Report, Houston Chronicle, "Lamar CISD lands three schools on Honor Roll," 6 June 2018 The Foundation for Delaware County received $100,000 annually for three years to expand its Healthy Start and Nurse-Family Partnership Program to work on school readiness for two- and three-year-olds. — Harold Brubaker, Philly.com, "United Way announces first grants with new focus on fighting intergenerational poverty," 16 May 2018 Sweden's new combat-readiness campaign issues a strikingly frank acknowledgment that times have changed. — Rick Noack, chicagotribune.com, "New government leaflets tell Swedes to prepare for war," 22 May 2018 More students than ever — 41.6 percent — are taking Advanced Placement and other college-readiness courses. — Ted Slowik, Daily Southtown, "Slowik: Rankings recognize schools where students exceed expectations," 16 May 2018 Schools that made it through the first three steps became eligible to be judged nationally on the final step – college-readiness performance – using Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate test data as the benchmark for success. — Cincinnati.com, "U.S. News & World Report: Several Cincinnati high schools ranked among Ohio's best," 9 May 2018 The funding will support the placement of at least 1,850 youth in summer jobs, as well as a one-week job-readiness training for people ages 18 to 24; and two-day training for youth 14 to 17. — Brenda Cain, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Foundation gives $13.8 million to fund summer jobs and job training," 21 Mar. 2018 Large-scale military exercises last month on Russia’s doorstep — in Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia — were meant to signal Western unity, resolve and readiness in the face of any potential threat. — Laura King, latimes.com, "Poland sees opportunity and peril in NATO summit and Trump-Putin meeting," 9 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'readiness.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.