Definition of "firmness" []

• The state of being firm; strength; permanence; stability; hardness; resolution. (noun)

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• "It was partly an inheritance from a stupid tradition, which tried to combine what it called firmness with what it called conciliation; as if when we made up our minds to soothe a man with a five-pound note, we always took care to undo our own action by giving him a kick as well."
• "Privately, he thought he had been a trifle hard on the lad, and but for his obstinacy -- which he called firmness -- he would have recalled the prodigal."
• "Hillsborough was under the impression that a little firmness -- what he called firmness -- would soon bring the colonists to their senses, but every mail that came across the Atlantic showed that Lord"