steelier; steeliest
1
: resembling or suggesting steel (as in hardness, color, strength, or coldness)
steely determination
steely blue
2
: made of steel
steeliness
noun
Examples of steely in a Sentence
a thief with steely nerves
He had a steely determination to succeed.
She gave him a steely gaze.
a sky filled with steely gray clouds
the judge's steely blue eyes
Recent Examples on the Web
Most of the cover is given over to a steely portrait of Skeets’s uncle Benson James, who was photographed by Richard Avedon for his series In the American West in 1979, then stabbed to death a year later.
—
Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
Anchored in steely guitars and meditative keys, the track tells a rare, almost sacred kind of intimacy to life.
—Tere Aguilera, Billboard, 27 Mar. 2026
Rudy Gobert, who had a steely 14 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, fouled out.
—CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026
Faut has a steely confidence and a quiet authority.
—Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
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Literary Hub, 1 Apr. 2026
Anchored in steely guitars and meditative keys, the track tells a rare, almost sacred kind of intimacy to life.
—Tere Aguilera, Billboard, 27 Mar. 2026
Rudy Gobert, who had a steely 14 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, fouled out.
—CBS News, 26 Mar. 2026
Faut has a steely confidence and a quiet authority.
—Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for steely
Cite this Entry
“Steely.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/steely. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
steely
adjective
steelier; steeliest
1
: made of steel
2
: resembling steel (as in hardness or color)
a steely gaze
steeliness
noun
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