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hardness - 5 dictionary results

hard⋅ness

   [hahrd-nis]
–noun
1. the state or quality of being hard: the hardness of ice.
2. a relative degree or extent of this quality: wood of a desirable hardness.
3. that quality in water that is imparted by the presence of dissolved salts, esp. calcium sulfate or bicarbonate.
4. unfeelingness or jadedness; callousness.
5. harshness or austerity, as of a difficult existence.
6. South Midland U.S. ill will; bad feelings: There's a lot of hardness between those two boys.
7. Mineralogy. the comparative ability of a substance to scratch or be scratched by another. Compare Mohs scale.
8. Metallurgy. the measured resistance of a metal to indention, abrasion, deformation, or machining.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME hardnes, OE heardnes. See hard, -ness
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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hard·ness     (härd'nĭs)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. The quality or condition of being hard.
  2. The relative resistance of a mineral to scratching, as measured by the Mohs scale.
  3. The relative resistance of a metal or other material to denting, scratching, or bending.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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hardness

noun
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] 
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" 
5. excessive sternness; "severity of character"; "the harshness of his punishment was inhuman"; "the rigors of boot camp" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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hardness   (härd'nĭs)  Pronunciation Key 
A measure of how easily a mineral can be scratched. Hardness is measured on the Mohs scale.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Hardness

Hard"ness\, n. [AS. heardness.]

1. The quality or state of being hard, literally or figuratively.

The habit of authority also had given his manners some peremptory hardness. --Sir W. Scott.

2. (Min.) 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.

3. (Chem.) 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.

Note: This quality is caused by the presence of calcium carbonate, causing temporary hardness which can be removed by boiling, or by calcium sulphate, causing permanent hardness which can not be so removed, but may be improved by the addition of sodium carbonate.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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