Definition of "hardness" []

• The quality or condition of being hard. (noun)
• The relative resistance of a mineral to scratching, as measured by the Mohs scale. (noun)
• The relative resistance of a metal or other material to denting, scratching, or bending. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Then you take chopped up betel nut (or areca nut, which is similar to nutmeg in hardness and texture) and fold the leaf over the the ingredients."
• "In the first place, "I do agnize a natural and prompt alacrity I find in hardness," though Heaven forbid but that I should perceive beauty wherever it exists (seeing that a "thing of beauty is a joy for ever")."
• "Thus wilful hardness is justly punished with judicial hardness."