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hardness - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'hardness' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Hardness [ n.]
- The quality or state of being hard, literally or figuratively.
- The cohesion of the particles on the surface of a body, determined by its capacity to scratch another, or be itself scratched;-measured among minerals on a scale of which diamond and talc form the extremes.
- The peculiar quality exhibited by water which has mineral salts dissolved in it. Such water forms an insoluble compound with soap, and is hence unfit for washing purposes.

Meaning of 'hardness' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . hardness [ n]
Meaning (1):
- the quality of being difficult to do
Example in sentence:
  • he assigned a series of problems of increasing hardness;
  • the ruggedness of his exams caused half the class to fail
Meaning (2):
- excessive sternness
Example in sentence:
  • severity of character;
  • the harshness of his punishment was inhuman;
  • the rigors of boot camp
Meaning (3):
- a quality of water that contains dissolved mineral salts that prevent soap from lathering
Example in sentence:
  • the costs of reducing hardness depend on the relative amounts of calcium and magnesium compounds that are present

Nearby Words:

har monically hara-kiri harangue harangued harangueful haranguer haranguing harass harassed harasser

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