Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The state or quality of being firm; compactness; hardness; solidity; stability; strength; steadfastness; resoluteness; constancy; fixedness; certainty: as, the firmness of jelly; firmness of flesh; firmness of union; the firmness of a purpose; the firmness of a judge.
- noun In phrenology, an organ situated toward the back part of the head, between self-esteem and veneration. Its function is said to be to produce determination, constancy, and perseverance.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The state or quality of being firm.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The state of being
firm ;strength ;permanence ;stability ;hardness ;resolution .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the quality of being steady or securely and immovably fixed in place
- noun the property of being unyielding to the touch
- noun the muscle tone of healthy tissue
- noun the trait of being resolute
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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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.
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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.
The Opal Serpent Fergus Hume 1895
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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
A History of the Four Georges and of William IV, Volume III (of 4) Justin McCarthy 1871
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Certainly there are times when presidential firmness is better than rapid changes in policy to suit public opinion.
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Certainly there are times when presidential firmness is better than rapid changes in policy to suit public opinion.
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The foam developed by Cargill replaces 20% of the petroleum-based foam and outperforms traditional foam in firmness, retention, support and durability.
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Financial stocks gained on hopes for near-term firmness, which would benefit brokerages as well as insurers and banks with large securities holdings.
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The moral would appear to be that firmness is required.
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If firmness is preserved in dealing with those who are in variance in their conduct with the terms of the Charter, and if the nations speaking through the Security Council take a firm stand, based on principles and don't try to play the game of expediency, then I think we may be hopeful for the future.
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Bless his memory, say I, for, though he might have had his faults, he was a right-honest true-hearted man -- brave as the bravest of his subjects, and firm too; though those who opposed him called his firmness obstinacy.
Ben Burton Born and Bred at Sea William Henry Giles Kingston 1847
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