FIRMNESS

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does firmness mean? 

• FIRMNESS (noun)
  The noun FIRMNESS has 4 senses:

1. the muscle tone of healthy tissue

2. the trait of being resolute

3. the property of being unyielding to the touch

4. the quality of being steady or securely and immovably fixed in place

  Familiarity information: FIRMNESS used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FIRMNESS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The muscle tone of healthy tissue

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

firmness; soundness

Context example:

his muscular firmness

Hypernyms ("firmness" is a kind of...):

strength (the property of being physically or mentally strong)

Derivation:

firm (possessing the tone and resiliency of healthy tissue)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The trait of being resolute

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

firmness; firmness of purpose; resoluteness; resolution; resolve

Context example:

it was his unshakeable resolution to finish the work

Hypernyms ("firmness" is a kind of...):

trait (a distinguishing feature of your personal nature)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "firmness"):

possession; self-command; self-control; self-possession; self-will; will power; willpower (the trait of resolutely controlling your own behavior)

steadiness (freedom from wavering or indecision; constancy of resolve or conduct)

sturdiness (resoluteness evidenced by strength of character)

stiffness (firm resoluteness in purpose or opinion or action)

bullheadedness; obstinacy; obstinance; pigheadedness; self-will; stubbornness (resolute adherence to your own ideas or desires)

single-mindedness (characterized by one unified purpose)

adamance; obduracy; unyieldingness (resoluteness by virtue of being unyielding and inflexible)

decision; decisiveness (the trait of resoluteness as evidenced by firmness of character or purpose)

determination; purpose (the quality of being determined to do or achieve something; firmness of purpose)

steadfastness (steadfast resolution)

Derivation:

firm (unwavering in devotion to friend or vow or cause)

firm (marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The property of being unyielding to the touch

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("firmness" is a kind of...):

hardness (the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure; not easily scratched; measured on Mohs scale)

Derivation:

firm (not soft or yielding to pressure)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The quality of being steady or securely and immovably fixed in place

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

firmness; steadiness

Hypernyms ("firmness" is a kind of...):

immovability; immovableness (not capable of being moved or rearranged)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "firmness"):

granite (something having the quality of granite (unyielding firmness))

sureness (the quality of being steady and unfailing)

stability; stableness (the quality or attribute of being firm and steadfast)

Derivation:

firm (securely fixed in place)

firm (not liable to fluctuate or especially to fall)

 Context examples 

The lips were full, yet possessed of the firmness, almost harshness, which is characteristic of thin lips.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Firmness, I may observe, was the grand quality on which both Mr. and Miss Murdstone took their stand.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A description about the firmness, uniformity or make-up of an entity.

(Consistency, NCI Thesaurus)

A question about whether an individual has or had firmness or tightness.

(Have Firmness or Tightness, NCI Thesaurus)

With all his firmness and self-control, thought I, he tasks himself too far: locks every feeling and pang within—expresses, confesses, imparts nothing.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Say this with firmness, and it will be quite enough.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

"No, sir," she replied with firmness, "I shall NOT stay. Your business cannot be with ME. The servants, I suppose, forgot to tell you that Mr. Palmer was not in the house."

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

She said nothing; and Eleanor, endeavouring to collect herself and speak with firmness, but with eyes still cast down, soon went on.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

I struggled vainly for firmness sufficient to answer him, but the effort destroyed all my remaining strength; I sank on the chair and sobbed aloud.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Your sister is an amiable creature; but yours is the character of decision and firmness, I see.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)