steely

[stee-lee]

adjective

steelier, steeliest 

1. consisting or made of steel.

2. resembling or suggesting steel, as in color, strength, or hardness.

Other Word Forms

• steeliness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of steely¹

First recorded in 1500–10; steel + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Lewis, who delivers Orwell’s words with a steely intensity that builds toward alarm, says his warnings have only grown more urgent.

From Los Angeles Times

Sciver-Brunt's demeanour around the press is relaxed but with a steely edge while Edwards has a quiet determination.

From BBC

He was greeted with steely silence, but the joke, if it was that, might well have killed in the classroom of a suburban high school.

From Salon

Beneath her rich surfaces, we find steely accounts of injustice and resilience.

From Los Angeles Times

As steely and rough as his gaze could be, there was an omnipresent softness to his work that kept him from being boxed in.

From Salon

Related Words

• adamant 
• immutable 
• intractable 
• obstinate 
• resolute 
• rigid 
• rigorous 
• steadfast 
• strict 
• stringent 
• uncompromising 
• unyielding