the quality of being difficult to do; "he assigned a series of problems of increasing hardness"; "the ruggedness of his exams caused half the class to fail"
the property of being rigid and resistant to pressure; not easily scratched; measured on Mohs scale
(sports) the act of swinging or striking at a ball with a club or racket or bat or cue or hand; "it took two strokes to get out of the bunker"; "a good shot require good balance and tempo"; "he left me an almost impossible shot"
any one of the repeated movements of the limbs and body used for locomotion in swimming or rowing
a mark made by a writing implement (as in cursive writing)
a light touch
the oarsman nearest the stern of the shell who sets the pace for the rest of the crew
a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain
treat gingerly or carefully; "You have to stroke the boss"
strike a ball with a smooth blow
row at a particular rate
touch lightly and with affection, with brushing motions; "He stroked his long beard"
soft coarse splintery wood of a hemlock tree especially the western hemlock
large branching biennial herb native to Eurasia and Africa and adventive in North America having large fernlike leaves and white flowers; usually found in damp habitats; all parts extremely poisonous
poisonous drug derived from an Eurasian plant of the genus Conium; "Socrates refused to flee and died by drinking hemlock"
a constitutional tendency to be gloomy and depressed
characterized by or causing or expressing sadness; "growing more melancholy every hour"; "her melancholic smile"; "we acquainted him with the melancholy truth"