stony

Or ston·ey

[stoh-nee]

adjective

stonier, stoniest 

1. full of or abounding in stones or rock.

   a stony beach.

   Synonyms: pebbly, rocky

2. pertaining to or characteristic of stone.

3. resembling or suggesting stone, especially in its hardness.

4. unfeeling; merciless; obdurate.

   a stony heart.

   Synonyms: unbending, inflexible, pitiless, flinty, hard, adamant

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.

stony

/ ˈstəʊnɪ /

adjective

1. of or resembling stone

2. abounding in stone or stones

3. unfeeling, heartless, or obdurate

4. short for stony-broke

Other Word Forms

• stonily adverb
• stoniness noun
• unstonily adverb
• unstoniness noun
• unstony adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of stony¹

before 1000; Middle English; Old English stānig. See stone, -y ¹

Example Sentences

Much of the action takes place inside Perpetual Fortitude’s stony walls but cleverly, the weather outside shifts along with the mood.

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Penelope summoned her last reserves of pluck and returned to her stony seat by the fire.

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The carriage bounced and rattled along the stony streets, at times so violently it seemed as if the wheels would shatter.

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As a Colored woman, my neck had constantly been beneath the stony foot of racial segregation, so collapsing under the weight of a bad twist of fate was a luxury I did not have.

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They control the real-life troops as in a computer game but their faces are stony, their focus total.

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Related Words

• expressionless www.thesaurus.com
• frigid