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arretratezza

backwardness

noun ahr-reh-trah-TET-tsah Rare
People & Society Community

Also means

underdevelopment

Usage Note

Arretratezza describes the state of being economically or socially underdeveloped — l'arretratezza del Sud ('the backwardness of the South') is a phrase common in Italian political and historical discourse on the North-South divide. The abstract noun is formed from arretrato ('backward, in arrears') with the suffix -ezza. It is always singular.

Examples

"L'arretratezza economica frenava lo sviluppo."

Natural Translation

Economic backwardness was slowing development.

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