hardness

[ hahrd-nis ]
See synonyms for hardness on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the state or quality of being hard: the hardness of ice.

  2. a relative degree or extent of this quality: wood of a desirable hardness.

  1. that quality in water that is imparted by the presence of dissolved salts, especially calcium sulfate or bicarbonate.

  2. unfeelingness or jadedness; callousness.

  3. harshness or austerity, as of a difficult existence.

  4. South Midland U.S. ill will; bad feelings: There's a lot of hardness between those two boys.

  5. Mineralogy. the comparative ability of a substance to scratch or be scratched by another.: Compare Mohs scale.

  6. Metallurgy. the measured resistance of a metal to indention, abrasion, deformation, or machining.

Origin of hardness

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English hardnes, Old English heardnes; see hard, -ness

Words Nearby hardness

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hardness in a sentence

  • 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 BEAST
  • His district, just south of Washington DC was among the hardness hit by the trembler.

    FEMA’s Budget Disaster | Daniel Stone, Laura Colarusso | August 28, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • When she felt his hardness,” however, “the feelings evaporated.

  • I portray Mecca as it really was, which means in all its hardness and brutality.

    7 Books for the Spiritually Starved | Spencer Bailey | September 18, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • 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. Jones
  • All things are come upon thee, because of the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great hardness of thy enchanters.

  • We have learned so much lately about self-denial, and crossing one's own inclinations, and enduring hardness.

    The Daisy Chain | Charlotte Yonge
  • A 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 Ward
  • But 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

hardness

/ (ˈhɑːdnɪs) /


noun
  1. the quality or condition of being hard

  2. one of several measures of resistance to indentation, deformation, or abrasion: See Mohs scale, Brinell hardness number

  1. 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

hardness

[ härdnĭs ]


  1. 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.