flinty

American  

[flin-tee] / ˈflɪn ti /

adjective

flintier, flintiest

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

2. unyielding; unmerciful; obdurate.

   a flinty heart.

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flinty British  

/ ˈflɪntɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling flint

2. hard or cruel; obdurate; unyielding

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Other Word Forms

• flintily adverb
• flintiness noun

Etymology

Origin of flinty

First recorded in 1530–40; flint + -y ¹

Explanation

Something that's made of or contains flint, or hard silica rock, is flinty. Flinty soil is rough and rocky, and not the best for planting a garden. Flinty earth is studded with jagged flakes of flint, and the adjective is often used in a figurative way to capture an equally rough and stony mood or personality. Your flinty uncle, for example, might be gruff and unsmiling. Since the 16th century flinty has been used this way, to mean "hard-hearted" or "tough as flint." The "full of flint" meaning is slightly newer.

Example Sentences

People try to be nice about it, but let’s face it, it’s cold, flinty and cheap looking.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

But there is still a combination of flinty determination and composure under pressure that has restricted England to just eight victories in 46 meetings across more than a century.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2025

"It's a big old cheese -- there's a lot going on. The texture is beautiful: it's flinty as you break it apart; the crystalline in there are so delicate," he said.

From Barron's • Nov. 13, 2025

Sweat, who is 70, has a golfer’s tan, flinty eyes, and a shirt unbuttoned just a little too far.

From Slate • Nov. 6, 2025

From far back in the flinty hills, the long, lonesome howl of a timber wolf floated down in the silent night.

From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• steely
• stony