Hardness
Hardness noun - The quality or state of being demanding or unyielding (as in discipline or criticism).
Usage example: the aunt's hardness gradually crumbled under the influence of the little orphan's endearing ways
Severity is a synonym for hardness in harshness topic. In some cases you can use "Severity" instead a noun "Hardness", when it comes to topics like easy, strictness. popular alternative
Severity
Severity noun - The quality or state of being demanding or unyielding (as in discipline or criticism).
Usage example: even though no one expected the film to be a hit with the critics, the director was taken aback by the severity of the criticism
Hardness is a synonym for severity in strictness topic. You can use "Hardness" instead a noun "Severity", if it concerns topics such as harshness, easy, asperity. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
- harshness and hardness
- harshness and severity
- acerbity and hardness
- acerbity and severity
- austerity and hardness
- austerity and severity
- hardship and hardness
- hardship and severity
- inflexibility and hardness
- inflexibility and severity
- stiffness and hardness
- stiffness and severity
- rigidity and hardness
- rigidity and severity
How words are described
Both words in one sentence
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One contemporary of Alexander Hamilton stated that "These [Hamiltons eyes] were of deep azure, eminently beautiful, without the slightest trace of hardness or severity, and beamed with higher expressions of intelligence and discernment than any others that I ever saw
"
Source: What Beautiful Eyes!
Cite this Source
Severity and Hardness. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardness/severity
Hardness & Severity. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardness/severity>.
Severity or Hardness. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/hardness/severity.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "hardness" and "severity" have occurred on timeline