2 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
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.
From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]:
hardness
n 1: the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure; not
easily scratched [ant: {softness}]
2: devoid of passion or feeling [syn: {unfeelingness}, {callousness},
{insensibility}]
3: the quality of being difficult to do "he assigned a series
of problems of increasing hardness"
4: excessive sternness; "the severity of his punishment was
inhuman" [syn: {severity}, {harshness}, {inclemency}, {stiffness}]
more about hardness
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