hardness

/'hɑ:dnis/

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Explanation of the Word "Hardness"

Word: Hardness
Part of Speech: Noun

Usage Instructions:

• Use "hardness" when you want to describe something that is not soft or flexible.
• It can be used in both physical and metaphorical contexts.

Examples:

1. Physical Context: "The hardness of the diamond makes it the hardest natural material on Earth."
2. Emotional Context: "His hardness made it difficult for others to connect with him emotionally."
3. Difficulty Context: "The hardness of the math problems made many students anxious during the exam."

Advanced Usage:

• In scientific contexts, "hardness" can refer to the resistance of a material to being scratched or dented. It is often measured using the Mohs scale, where different materials are rated based on their hardness.

Word Variants:

• Hard: (adjective) Describing something that is firm, solid, or difficult to break.
• Harden: (verb) To make or become hard.
• Hardened: (adjective) Describing something that has become hard, often used metaphorically to describe someone who has become emotionally tough.

Different Meanings:

1. Physical Hardness: Refers to the tangible quality of materials, such as metals, stones, or wood.
2. Emotional Hardness: Refers to a lack of compassion or warmth in a person's character.
3. Difficulty Hardness: Refers to how challenging a task or problem is.

Synonyms:

• Toughness
• Rigidity
• Severity
• Harshness
• Rigidness

Idioms:

• "Hard as nails" – This idiom means someone is very tough or unfeeling.

Phrasal Verbs:

There aren't specific phrasal verbs that include "hardness," but you can use verbs such as "harden up" (to become tougher) in related contexts.

Summary:

"Hardness" is a versatile noun that can describe the physical quality of materials, the emotional toughness of a person, or the difficulty of a problem.

Academic

Noun

1. excessive sternness
   • severity of character
   • the harshness of his punishment was inhuman
   • the rigors of boot camp
2. 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
3. devoid of passion or feeling; hardheartedness
4. 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
5. the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure; not easily scratched; measured on Mohs scale

Synonyms

• ruggedness
• unfeelingness
• callousness
• callosity
• insensibility