hardness
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hardness
- /ˈhɑɹdnəs/ US
- /ˈhɑːdnəs/ UK
Where it comes from
From Middle English hardness, hardnesse, from Old English heardnes, from heard + -nes, equivalent to hard + -ness.
noun hardnesses · hardnesse
- The quality of being hard. Who can number the cloudes in wiſedom? or who can ſtay the bottles of heauen, / When the duſt groweeh^([sic – meaning groweth]) into hardneſſe and the clods cleaue faſt together?
- 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. The hardness of the material was high.
Similar: callosity, durity, firmness, hardness, induration, inflexibility, rigidity, renitence, renitency, stiffness, temper · Opposite: softness
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: stiffness, severity, harshness, callousness, inclemency, insensibility, unfeelingness, hard, hardening, toughening, toughness, durity, difficult, hardship, strength, harsh
Translations
Talk about this word "hardness." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hardness. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hardness. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hardness "hardness." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hardness.Cite this
@misc{hardness_2026,
title = {hardness},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hardness},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
