Definition of "induration" [in•du•ra•tion]

• The quality or condition of being hardened. (noun)
• The act or process of becoming hardened. (noun)
• Pathology The hardening of a normally soft tissue or organ, especially the skin, because of inflammation, infiltration of a neoplasm, or an accumulation of blood. (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.

• "It [sic] steatites for instance I have specimens of every degree of induration from the hardness of soap to the most compact polished jasper and they illustrate the fact of jaspers being indurated steatites, so clearly and fully that I cannot find in my heart to keep them asunder."
• "The level of induration in the nearby sediments increases toward the trap rock."
• "He had a severe local reaction (massive swelling of the leg with induration) and the GP was called out and witnessed this."