Hardness - Definition
hardness
n 1: the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure; not
easily scratched; measured on Mohs scale [ant: softness]
2: 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"
3: devoid of passion or feeling; hardheartedness [syn:
unfeelingness, callousness, callosity, hardness,
insensibility]
4: the quality of being difficult to do; "he assigned a series
of problems of increasing hardness"; "the ruggedness of his
exams caused half the class to fail" [syn: hardness,
ruggedness]
5: excessive sternness; "severity of character"; "the harshness
of his punishment was inhuman"; "the rigors of boot camp"
[syn: severity, severeness, harshness, rigor,
rigour, rigorousness, rigourousness, inclemency,
hardness, stiffness]