hardness

Meanings

Plural: hardnesses

Noun

• the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure; not easily scratched; measured on Mohs scale
• a quality of water that contains dissolved mineral salts that prevent soap from lathering
  • "the costs of reducing hardness depend on the relative amounts of calcium and magnesium compounds that are present"
• devoid of passion or feeling; hardheartedness
• the quality of being difficult to do
  • "he assigned a series of problems of increasing hardness"
• excessive sternness
• The quality of being hard.
• An instance of this quality; hardship.
• The quantity of calcium carbonate dissolved in water, usually expressed in parts per million (ppm).
• The resistance to scratching, cutting, indentation or abrasion of a metal or other solid material.
• The penetrating ability of electromagnetic radiation, such as x-rays; generally, the shorter the wavelength, the harder and more penetrating the radiation.
• The measure of resistance to damage of a facility, equipment, installation, or telecommunications infrastructure when subjected to attack.
• A measure of how hard a material is

Synonyms

callosity, callousness, durity, firmness, hardness, harshness, inclemency, induration, inflexibility, insensibility, renitence, renitency, rigidity, rigor, rigorousness, rigour, rigourousness, ruggedness, severeness, severity, stiffness, temper, unfeelingness

Antonyms

softness

Related Words

bone, cement, concrete, crystal, diamond, flint, granite, hard, harden, hardiness, iron, marble, metal, oak, rock, steel, stone