stony

or ston·ey

[stoh-nee]

See more synonyms for stony on Thesaurus.com

adjective, ston·i·er, ston·i·est.

full of or abounding in stones or rock: a stony beach.
pertaining to or characteristic of stone.
resembling or suggesting stone, especially in its hardness.

unfeeling; merciless; obdurate: a stony heart.
motionless or rigid; without expression, as the eyes or a look: a hard, stony stare.
petrifying; stupefying: stony fear.
having a stone or stones, as fruit.
Slang. stone-broke.

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

See more synonyms for stony on Thesaurus.com

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 stony

Contemporary Examples

Rey, after sitting for long hours in stony silence, eventually gave the police her last name.
The Mad Shooter of Paris Is a ‘Natural Born Killer’
Christopher Dickey
November 21, 2013
Sara Sonnack, a Stony Brook journalism major who will be a senior next year, says she hopes she can make the trip.
NYC Auction Held to Raise Funds for Stony Brook’s New Marie Colvin Center
Caitlin Dickson
June 22, 2012
Havel was a hero who shrugged off the title, understandably uncomfortable with the assumptions of stony perfection.
John Avlon: Vaclav Havel's Heroic Politics of Truth and Responsibility
John Avlon
December 19, 2011
She recalled the time they had walked together its stony beaches–and when Lee had lost his keys among the rocks.
Inside Alexander McQueen's Memorial
Isabel Wilkinson
September 20, 2010
The stony silence of IRS is compelling thousands of us to hire tax counsel and to proceed at our own risk and expense.
How the Government Screwed Madoff Victims Again
Burt Ross
March 8, 2009

Historical Examples

The ground is stony, and scarce any thing but gravel, mixt with a little earth.
The History of Louisiana
Le Page Du Pratz
But it was Stony Mountain that was of most importance to the British.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
At this time, young Dunlap was introduced to the stony paths of playwriting.
Andr
William Dunlap
To his further remonstrances she interposed a stony silence.
Louisiana Lou
William West Winter
His horrible pleading fell on stony ears, and he changed his tune.
Louisiana Lou
William West Winter

British Dictionary definitions for stony

stony

stoney

adjective stonier or stoniest

of or resembling stone
abounding in stone or stones
unfeeling, heartless, or obdurate
short for stony-broke

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 stony

adj.

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

stony

or ston·ey

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}stony

Synonyms

Examples from the Web for stony

Contemporary Examples

Rey, after sitting for long hours in stony silence, eventually gave the police her last name.

Sara Sonnack, a Stony Brook journalism major who will be a senior next year, says she hopes she can make the trip.

Havel was a hero who shrugged off the title, understandably uncomfortable with the assumptions of stony perfection.

She recalled the time they had walked together its stony beaches–and when Lee had lost his keys among the rocks.

The stony silence of IRS is compelling thousands of us to hire tax counsel and to proceed at our own risk and expense.

Historical Examples

The ground is stony, and scarce any thing but gravel, mixt with a little earth.

But it was Stony Mountain that was of most importance to the British.

At this time, young Dunlap was introduced to the stony paths of playwriting.

To his further remonstrances she interposed a stony silence.

His horrible pleading fell on stony ears, and he changed his tune.

stony

stoney

Word Origin and History for stony

adj.

Origin of stony