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stony

or ston·ey

[stoh-nee]
adjective, ston·i·er, ston·i·est.
  1. full of or abounding in stones or rock: a stony beach.
  2. pertaining to or characteristic of stone.
  3. resembling or suggesting stone, especially in its hardness.
  4. unfeeling; merciless; obdurate: a stony heart.
  5. motionless or rigid; without expression, as the eyes or a look: a hard, stony stare.
  6. petrifying; stupefying: stony fear.
  7. having a stone or stones, as fruit.
  8. Slang. stone-broke.
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Origin of stony

before 1000; Middle English; Old English stānig. See stone, -y1
Related formsston·i·ly, adverbston·i·ness, nounun·ston·i·ly, adverbun·ston·i·ness, nounun·ston·y, adjective

Synonyms for stony

1. rocky, pebbly. 4. adamant, hard, flinty, pitiless, inflexible, unbending.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stonily

Historical Examples of stonily

  • She told him, stonily, that he had disappointed her dearest hopes and broken her heart.

    Fort Amity

    Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

  • "Get this calf-eyed girl Friday of yours off my back," he said stonily.

    Tinker's Dam

    Joseph Tinker

  • "I guess it doesn't matter much what I want," she said stonily.

  • She eyed him stonily, and then sent him off about his business.

    Long Live the King

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • What was left for her but to be a slave, she said stonily to herself.

    The Madigans

    Miriam Michelson

British Dictionary definitions for stonily

stony

stoney

adjective stonier or stoniest
  1. of or resembling stone
  2. abounding in stone or stones
  3. unfeeling, heartless, or obdurate
  4. short for stony-broke
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Derived Formsstonily, adverbstoniness, 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 stonily

stony

adj.

Old English stanig; see stone (n.) + -y (2).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper