Meaning & use

riddance

noun·Academic

Relief felt at getting rid of something or someone unwanted, almost always used in the phrase good riddance.

See it in a sentence

When the noisy neighbors finally moved out, everyone on the street said good riddance.

She threw away the broken furniture with a sense of riddance rather than regret.

A note on using this word

Riddance almost never appears outside the fixed expression good riddance, said when someone is glad an unwanted person or thing is gone.

Words with a similar meaning

relief

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “riddance”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.