n 1: the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure; not
easily scratched; measured on Mohs scale [ant: softness]
2: devoid of passion or feeling [syn: unfeelingness, callousness, insensibility]
3: the quality of being difficult to do; "he assigned a series
of problems of increasing hardness"
4: excessive sternness; "severity of character"; "the harshness
of his punishment was inhuman"; "the rigors of boot camp"
[syn: severity, harshness, rigor, rigour, inclemency, stiffness]