flinty

[ flin-tee ]

/ ˈflɪn ti /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flinty ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, flint·i·er, flint·i·est.

composed of, containing, or resembling flint, especially in hardness.

unyielding; unmerciful; obdurate: a flinty heart.

Nearby words

flinthead, flintlock, flintoff, flintshire, flintstone, flinty, flip, flip chart, flip one's lid, flip side, flip through

Origin of flinty

First recorded in 1530–40; flint + -y¹

Related formsflint·i·ly, adverbflint·i·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flinty

The activism, even amongst the community, was difficult and flinty.
Matt Bomer Tells the Personal Story Behind His Heartbreaking ‘Normal Heart’ Performance|Kevin Fallon|May 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For Anderson, this is a role that she was born to play: uncompromising and flinty, radiating a ferocity and tough conviction.
The Haunting New Serial-Killer Thriller Heading to Netflix|Jace Lacob|May 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For all his flinty wit and occasional impulse to antagonize, Ed Koch was, in the end, almost impossible to dislike.
RIP, Ed Koch|Justin Green|February 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“Linda McMahon is clearly not a fiscal conservative, which I am,” says Shays with flinty frustration.
Shays’s Rebellion: The Last Yankee Republican Fights For His Political Life|John Avlon|August 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The fact that she comes from flinty, northern coal-miner stock.
Notes From a Royal Wedding|Tina Brown|May 1, 2011|DAILY BEAST
So saying, he took a piece of flinty stone, and struck it hard against another, till they gave red sparks between them.
Translations from the German (Vol 3 of 3)|Thomas Carlyle
Dawson added the last because of the flinty look that had suddenly leaped into Farmer's eyes.
Dave Dawson at Casablanca|Robert Sydney Bowen
Dear John,—Dost expect to elicit a spark from so dull a steel as myself, by that flinty subject of thine?
The Writings of Henry David Thoreau, Volume VI, Familiar Letters|Henry David Thoreau
The certain approach of death had already humanised and softened his flinty heart.
The King's Own|Captain Frederick Marryat
The sled runners squeaked loudly in the flinty snow, and Connie halted the dogs and surveyed the forbidding landscape.
Connie Morgan in Alaska|James B. Hendryx

British Dictionary definitions for flinty

flinty

/ (ˈflɪntɪ) /

adjective flintier or flintiest

of, relating to, or resembling flint

hard or cruel; obdurate; unyielding

Derived Formsflintily, adverbflintiness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for flinty

flinty

adj.

"hard-hearted," 1530s, from flint + -y (2). Literal sense of "resembling flint" is from 1640s. Related: Flintily; flintiness.

flinty

adjective, flint·i·er, flint·i·est.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of flinty

Examples from the Web for flinty

British Dictionary definitions for flinty

flinty

adjective flintier or flintiest

Word Origin and History for flinty

flinty