1
as in hardship
something that is a cause for suffering or special effort especially in the attainment of a goal
the test questions were rated for hardness, a rating of five indicating the most difficult
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in severity
the quality or state of being demanding or unyielding (as in discipline or criticism)
the aunt's hardness gradually crumbled under the influence of the little orphan's endearing ways
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hardness
Depending on your water hardness, the humidifier will need a deep cleaning from time to time.
—
John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 28 Apr. 2026
There’s an almost paradoxical tension between the lushness of the melody and the hardness of the drums, between something very raw and something very sophisticated.
—New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
All the surface performance tests – ball bounce, rotational resistance and surface hardness – on these eight carpets also met FIFA standards.
—Ryan Bearss, The Conversation, 20 Apr. 2026
Another method is to perform a soil hardness test.
—Nora Doonan, Hartford Courant, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hardness
John R. Delaney, PC Magazine, 28 Apr. 2026
There’s an almost paradoxical tension between the lushness of the melody and the hardness of the drums, between something very raw and something very sophisticated.
—New York Times, 28 Apr. 2026
All the surface performance tests – ball bounce, rotational resistance and surface hardness – on these eight carpets also met FIFA standards.
—Ryan Bearss, The Conversation, 20 Apr. 2026
Another method is to perform a soil hardness test.
—Nora Doonan, Hartford Courant, 4 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hardness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardness
Noun
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One of our top picks for private student loan refinancing, Earnest, has low rates and hardship options like pausing or reducing payments or temporary interest rate reductions for illness, unemployment and financial distress.—
John Csiszar,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
-
According to the court, prospective military members can seek relief after the case has completely moved through the courts, while active service members face a more serious hardship by being expelled from the military.—
Peter Charalambous,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
Allegedly, Buckingham Palace leaned on the press to downplay the severity of the king’s illness last year, which paints a picture of a monarch who’s much sicker than people want to believe.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
3 June 2026
-
The severity of the victim's injuries was not yet known.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
Noun
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Liquidity and accessibility Both gold and Bitcoin are relatively liquid assets, meaning they can typically be bought or sold without much difficulty.—
Sharon Wu,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
-
The Aerospace Corporation has been advancing a concept for a restartable solid rocket motor (RSRM), a propulsion configuration that has long posed engineering difficulties because conventional solid motors burn continuously once ignited and cannot be throttled or shut down mid-flight.—
Aditya Jadhav,
Interesting Engineering,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hardness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardness. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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