1. The capacity of a metal or alloy to be hardened by heat treatment, especially the depth to which hardness penetrates when the material is quenched.
Usage: technical; metallurgy

Examples

• Steel with high hardenability can be hardened to significant depths during quenching.
• The hardenability of the alloy was tested using the Jominy end-quench test.
• Engineers selected a steel grade with excellent hardenability for the critical machine component.
• Hardenability depends on factors such as carbon content and the presence of alloying elements.
• The hardenability curve showed that the material reached maximum hardness after rapid cooling.