variants
also stoney
as in stern
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
the judge's stony demeanor didn't raise the defendant's hopes for a more lenient sentence
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stony
No expensive meter running that is racking up hefty bills and stony fees.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
But Bana is not as believable when asked to drop his stony demeanor and display vulnerability, a shortcoming that hampers his arc in the back half of the season.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 July 2025
The reef is home to 45 species of stony corals, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and 6,000 species of marine line total.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 3 July 2025
The typically blustery course, located along the stony shore of Sandwich Bay, was calm during the first round, which began at 6:45am.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stony
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
But Bana is not as believable when asked to drop his stony demeanor and display vulnerability, a shortcoming that hampers his arc in the back half of the season.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 July 2025
The reef is home to 45 species of stony corals, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and 6,000 species of marine line total.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 3 July 2025
The typically blustery course, located along the stony shore of Sandwich Bay, was calm during the first round, which began at 6:45am.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stony
Adjective
-
From one side, draped in a dark-blue robe and flanked by an entourage in matching work shirts, Joe Frazier walked slowly through the crowd, stern and granite-jawed.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
-
Not even the most stern calls to sit down could keep the crowds away, as production staff tried to pave a path for fellow front row faces like rapper Glorilla, Charles Melton, Celtics player Jayson Tatum — who was sidelined late last season with an injury — Elle Fanning, and more.—
Kristen Tauer,
Footwear News,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The facial expressions match the show’s grim color palette.—
Will Collins,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
-
Now they are being called on by their leader to adapt to a grim reality of military might.—
Ruth Margalit,
New Yorker,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Tracey recalls how her ruthless daughter sought revenge on her father, classmates and Laura.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
-
In the epic Emperor Kisra (Kingsley) has a reputation for being utterly ruthless.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Oysters inspired the researchers because of their remarkable ability to attach to rocks, bridge pilings, or even each other in the harsh underwater environment.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Sep. 2025
-
But the rules of the Long Walk are harsh and the stakes could not be higher.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Most of these initiatives met obdurate resistance from more powerful sectors of the state, and by the end of Khatami’s second term, in 2005, the reform movement had lost much of its momentum.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Ipswich proved obdurate and then generous opponents — Newcastle’s 78 per cent possession was the highest by any team in a Premier League match this season — and their relegation was confirmed by this 3-0 defeat.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The film’s only real villain is Al Pacino, doing a Colonel Sanders accent as Richard’s father M.L. Hall, whose pitiless rigidity stands in for capitalism as a whole.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Each failure rekindled the gravitational pull of an existential, pitiless struggle.—
Hussein Agha,
New Yorker,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
If Hollow Knight was demanding, Silksong is merciless.—
Keller Gordon,
NPR,
8 Sep. 2025
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In 1918, Bolshevik secret police forced Anastasia Romanov and her imperial family into a damp basement to face a merciless firing squad.—
Ashlee Conour,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
His characters strive to achieve things—such as love, self-command, or financial success—but those efforts are made ironic in the face of a world that, while sometimes beautiful to look at, remains indurate to human happiness.—
Scott Bradfield,
The New Republic,
24 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Stony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stony. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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