English noun: hardness | |||
1. | hardness (attribute) the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure; not easily scratched; measured on Mohs scale | ||
Broader (hypernym) | body, consistence, consistency, eubstance | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | firmness, incompressibility | ||
Attribute | hard, soft | ||
Antonyms | softness | ||
2. | hardness (attribute) a quality of water that contains dissolved mineral salts that prevent soap from lathering | ||
Samples | The costs of reducing hardness depend on the relative amounts of calcium and magnesium compounds that are present. | ||
Broader (hypernym) | quality | ||
3. | hardness (attribute) devoid of passion or feeling; hardheartedness | ||
Synonyms | callosity, callousness, insensibility, unfeelingness | ||
Broader (hypernym) | insensitiveness, insensitivity | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | dullness | ||
4. | hardness (attribute) the quality of being difficult to do | ||
Samples | He assigned a series of problems of increasing hardness. The ruggedness of his exams caused half the class to fail. | ||
Synonyms | ruggedness | ||
Broader (hypernym) | difficultness, difficulty | ||
5. | hardness (attribute) excessive sternness | ||
Samples | Severity of character. The harshness of his punishment was inhuman. The rigors of boot camp. | ||
Synonyms | harshness, inclemency, rigor, rigorousness, rigour, rigourousness, severeness, severity, stiffness | ||
Broader (hypernym) | sternness, strictness | ||