for goodness' sake
UK/fə ˈɡʊdnəs seɪk/US/fɔɹ ˈɡʊdnəs seɪk/
for goodness' sake prepositional phrase: used to express frustration, exasperation, annoyance.
Prepositional phrase
for goodness' sake!
- Used to express frustration, exasperation, annoyance.
- For goodness' sake, get off the computer! You've been on there for ages!
- You're 47, for goodness' sake. Too old for this!2015 April 28, Tracey Spicer, “Taming tiny terrors: How to have a happy family holiday”, in The Press
- Synonyms:
- for God's sake, for Christ's sake, Jesus Christ!, Christ almighty!, for fuck's sake, FFS, for crying out loud, for Pete's sake, for the love of God
- Used to express surprise or amazement.
- For goodness' sake, I spelled that word correctly. I never knew I could do that.
- No salesman is ever a bore if he can make us throw up our hands and say, "Well, for goodness' sake! What do you know about that ?" Yes, surprise is the thing.1921, Printers' Ink Monthly - Volumes 3-4, page 42
- Used for emphasis
- They'll try all they can to deceive and to cheat, But for goodness sake don't say I told you.1888, Harrison and Morton, The Tippecanoe Campaign Songster
- Well, for goodness sake let me know if I can do anything.2012 -, Hazel Holt, No Cure for Death, →ISBN
Examples of for goodness' sake in a sentence
- “For goodness' sake,” Einstein exclaimed.2008, Walter Isaacson, Einstein: His Life and Universe, →ISBN:
- For goodness' sake, we go to Spain for a week and get new next-door neighbors!2014, Louise Millar, The Hidden Girl: A Novel, →ISBN, page 179:
- I thought, for goodness' sake, fancy them being the same!2016 November 24, Te Ahua Maitland, “Woman celebrating 100th birthday receives 50 double-ups on cards”, in The Southland Times:
- These young women are busy, for goodness' sake, tired and overworked, stressed, trying to find time for themselves in days that have too little.2017 May 14, Susan Estrich, “Mothers and memories”, in The Exponent Telegram:
Synonyms of for goodness' sake
- for God's sake
- for Christ's sake
- Jesus Christ!
- Christ almighty!
- for fuck's sake
- FFS
- for crying out loud
- for Pete's sake
- for the love of God
Forms of for goodness' sake
| alternative form | for goodness's sake |
|---|---|
| alternative form (nonstandard) | for goodness sake |
Origin of for goodness' sake
A minced version of for God's sake.
Questions about for goodness' sake
- What does for goodness' sake mean?
- For goodness' sake means used to express frustration, exasperation, annoyance.
- How do you use for goodness' sake in a sentence?
- “For goodness' sake,” Einstein exclaimed.
- What part of speech is for goodness' sake?
- For goodness' sake is a prepositional phrase.
- How do you pronounce for goodness' sake?
- For goodness' sake is pronounced /fɔɹ ˈɡʊdnəs seɪk/ (US).
Words near for goodness' sake in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: for goodness' sake (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “for goodness' sake.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/for_goodness%27_sake. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.