hardness
the state or quality of being hard: the hardness of ice.
a relative degree or extent of this quality: wood of a desirable hardness.
that quality in water that is imparted by the presence of dissolved salts, especially calcium sulfate or bicarbonate.
unfeelingness or jadedness; callousness.
harshness or austerity, as of a difficult existence.
South Midland U.S. ill will; bad feelings: There's a lot of hardness between those two boys.
Mineralogy. the comparative ability of a substance to scratch or be scratched by another.: Compare Mohs scale.
Metallurgy. the measured resistance of a metal to indention, abrasion, deformation, or machining.
Origin of hardness
1Words Nearby hardness
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hardness in a sentence
I see the hardness, but I also see that little boy inside that rough person.
A former cop created a program to help Baltimore kids. Now, she’s hoping to give them more: a permanent safe haven. | Theresa Vargas | August 25, 2021 | Washington PostUsing nanoparticles of a mineral similar to santabarbaraite, the scientists also 3-D printed strong, light materials with a range of hardness and stiffness.
The teeth of ‘wandering meatloaf’ contain a rare mineral found only in rocks | Charles Q. Choi | May 31, 2021 | Science NewsParticipants compared the softness or hardness of different blocks.
Capturing the sense of touch could upgrade prosthetics and our digital lives | Kathiann Kowalski | April 22, 2021 | Science NewsThe result is “art that is a self-willed test of hardness,” which some will consume “not to feel more but to feel less.”
The Controversy Around Amazon's Them Underscores the Trouble With Realistic Violence in Genre TV | Judy Berman | April 13, 2021 | TimeIn our outdoor experiments, DyRET used a machine learning model, seeded with knowledge about the best leg configuration for a given combination of terrain hardness and roughness taken from the controlled tests.
This Shape-Shifting Robot Can Rearrange Its Body to Walk in New Environments | David Howard | March 25, 2021 | Singularity Hub
Where some hear hardness in hip-hop, Tupac heard transformation, evolution.
Broadway Was Made for Tupac | Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Marcyliena Morgan | July 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHis district, just south of Washington DC was among the hardness hit by the trembler.
When she felt his hardness,” however, “the feelings evaporated.
I portray Mecca as it really was, which means in all its hardness and brutality.
It is of an exceedingly hard, densely compact nature; from its hardness difficult to work, but susceptible of a very high polish.
Asbestos | Robert H. JonesAll things are come upon thee, because of the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great hardness of thy enchanters.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousWe have learned so much lately about self-denial, and crossing one's own inclinations, and enduring hardness.
The Daisy Chain | Charlotte YongeA man from whom everything is torn at one blow; a man of not very strong character, not accustomed to endure hardness.
Marriage la mode | Mrs. Humphry WardBut those who loved him best saw the stony hardness of his face, beyond anything that came after the great stroke at St. Julien.
God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
British Dictionary definitions for hardness
/ (ˈhɑːdnɪs) /
the quality or condition of being hard
one of several measures of resistance to indentation, deformation, or abrasion: See Mohs scale, Brinell hardness number
the quality of water that causes it to impair the lathering of soap: caused by the presence of certain calcium salts. Temporary hardness can be removed by boiling whereas permanent hardness cannot
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for hardness
[ härd′nĭs ]
A measure of how easily a mineral can be scratched. Hardness is measured on the Mohs scale.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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