1. The plural of hardenability; the capacity or susceptibility of a material (especially steel) to be hardened by heat treatment, typically measured by the depth to which hardness penetrates.
Usage: technical; metallurgy; materials science

Examples

• The engineer compared the hardenabilities of different steel alloys to select the best material for the tool.
• Hardenabilities vary significantly depending on the carbon content and alloying elements in the steel.
• Testing hardenabilities helps manufacturers predict how deep hardness will penetrate during quenching.
• The hardenabilities of these samples were measured using the Jominy end-quench test.