hardness
Resistance to pressure
Hardness is the quality of being hard—resistant to pressure, cutting, or scratching.
Diamond ranks highest on the hardness scale.
The word extends to difficulty the hardness of the exam, severity the hardness of winter, or emotional toughness a hardness in her eyes that hadn't been there before.
In water, hardness refers to mineral content that affects soap's effectiveness.
American illustrator surname
- VickersBritish engineering conglomerate
- indentationInward cut or setback
- scratchSuperficial wound or mark
- penetrationEntry into something
diamond · scale · tester · superficial
State of being unbending
- stiffnessResistance to deformation
- firmnessResistance to deformation
- solidityFirmness of structure
- densityMass-to-volume ratio
impenetrability · incompressibility · temper · brittleness · crystallinity · compactness · induration · resistance
Intensity of sternness
- sternnessUncompromising strictness of manner
- strictnessInflexibility in enforcement
- rigorStrict, thorough precision
- coldnessLow temperature state
inflexibility · harshness · unforgiving · pitilessness · mercilessness · callousness · cruelty · ruthlessness
Rockwell
American illustrator surname
- VickersBritish engineering conglomerate
- indentationInward cut or setback
- scratchSuperficial wound or mark
penetration · diamond · scale · tester · superficial
rigidity
State of being unbending
density · impenetrability · incompressibility · temper · brittleness · crystallinity · compactness · induration · resistance · toughness
severity
Intensity of sternness
- sternnessUncompromising strictness of manner
- strictnessInflexibility in enforcement
- rigorStrict, thorough precision
coldness · inflexibility · harshness · unforgiving · pitilessness · mercilessness · callousness · cruelty · ruthlessness · grimness
mineral
Naturally formed crystalline solid
softener · dissolved · temporary · permanent · carbonate · ion · buildup · deposits · grains · ppm
challenge
Test of ability
- struggleLabored effort against resistance
- adversitySevere difficulty or suffering
- obstacleSomething blocking the way
demanding · grueling · arduous · laborious · taxing · strenuous · uphill · tough · punishing · rigorous
- touchtouch, feel, touching, caress, feeling
- mineralsquartz, marble, granite, limestone, sandstone
- physical propertiessolid, texture, weight, mass, surface
- quality statefreshness, ripeness, cleanliness, dirtiness, purity
- harshnessseverity, roughness, sternness, sharpness, rigor
- gemologydiamond, ruby, sapphire, emerald, opal
hardnesssoftness
Yielding to gentle pressure
pliability · flexibility · malleability · sponginess · squishiness
hardnesseasiness
Lack of difficulty
ease · simplicity · effortlessness · straightforwardness · manageability
hardnesssoftness
Yielding to gentle pressure
gentleness · tenderness · kindness · compassion · mildness
- Mohs hardnessScale measuring scratch resistance
- water hardnessDissolved mineral concentration in H2O
- hardness of heartLack of compassion or pity
- hardness scaleRanking of material durability