hardness
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being hard.
the hardness of ice.
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a relative degree or extent of this quality.
wood of a desirable hardness.
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that quality in water that is imparted by the presence of dissolved salts, especially calcium sulfate or bicarbonate.
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unfeelingness or jadedness; callousness.
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harshness or austerity, as of a difficult existence.
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South Midland U.S. ill will; bad feelings.
There's a lot of hardness between those two boys.
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Mineralogy. the comparative ability of a substance to scratch or be scratched by another.
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Metallurgy. the measured resistance of a metal to indention, abrasion, deformation, or machining.
noun
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the quality or condition of being hard
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one of several measures of resistance to indentation, deformation, or abrasion See Mohs scale Brinell hardness number
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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
Etymology
Origin of hardness
First recorded before 900; Middle English hardnes, Old English heardnes; see hard, -ness
Vocabulary lists containing hardness
Earth Science - Middle School
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Structure and Properties of Matter - Middle School
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Rocks and Minerals - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is a pas de deux of contrasts—roughness and polish, hardness and softness, danger and safety.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
Materials with this level of hardness are among the toughest used in industrial applications and rank just below superhard materials such as sapphire and diamond.
From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026
You were able to capture so much about the daddy issues that she has and where the maybe hardness or prickliness comes from.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2025
Everything from traction, the hardness of the surface, how high the ball bounces, how far the ball rolls and shock absorption have been looked into.
From BBC • Apr. 4, 2025
She did not like to think of with what hardness of heart, what calculated weeping, what deceit, what cruelty she now went into battle with her aunt for her freedom.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
