stony

adjective

ˈstō-nē 

variants or less commonly stoney

stonier; stoniest

1

: abounding in or having the nature of stone : rocky

2

a

: insensitive to pity or human feeling : obdurate

b

: manifesting no movement or reaction : dumb, expressionless

c

: fearfully gripping : petrifying

3

archaic : consisting of or made of stones

4

British : stone broke

stonily

ˈstō-nə-lē 

adverb

stoniness

ˈstō-nē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• affectless
• callous
• case-hardened
• cold-blooded
• compassionless
• desensitized
• hard
• hard-boiled
• hard-hearted
• heartless
• indurate
• inhuman
• inhumane
• insensate
• insensitive
• ironhearted
• merciless
• obdurate
• pachydermatous
• pitiless
• remorseless
• ruthless
• slash-and-burn
• soulless
• stonyhearted
• take-no-prisoners
• thick-skinned
• uncharitable
• unfeeling
• unmerciful
• unsparing
• unsympathetic

Examples of stony in a Sentence

She gave him a stony stare.

the judge's stony demeanor didn't raise the defendant's hopes for a more lenient sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The stony object was actually a piece of ancient battle gear, the Soprintendenza del Mare announced in a March 28 Facebook post. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2024

Different types of asteroids that pose a threat — whether hard, stony asteroids or rubble piles, which are effectively loose piles of rock held together by gravity — would require different deflection techniques. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 27 Feb. 2024

And spinning of wings, model Alva Claire’s double flicked eye and stony lip liner look was made possible by the Danessa Myricks Groundwork palette– adding core-defining neutral shadows. —India Espy-Jones, Essence, 18 Mar. 2024

At the Captains Trail junction, across from a scenic view of the lake, the route heads inland and is quickly absorbed into stony corridors. —Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024

His face remains stony as his eyes dart from one corner to the other. —Seyward Darby, Longreads, 14 Feb. 2024

Scientists believe rising sea temps have driven the increasing impacts from invasive smothering algae and helped spread coral-damaging diseases, from black-band and white-band disease to white plague and stony coral disease. —Alie Skowronski, Sun Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2024

Draped with hanging vines, pierced with sunlight beams from openings to the sky, and hushed with stony silence, these natural wonders are a must-visit in Tulum. —Meagan Drillinger, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2024

This remarkably romantic walled town is a stony museum of Byzantine, Ottoman, and Venetian history dating back to the 13th century. —Rick Steves, Chicago Tribune, 30 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing stony

• stony broke

Kids Definition

stony

adjective

variants also stoney

ˈstō-nē 

stonier; stoniest

1

a

: full of stones

stony soil

b

: hard as stone

a stony seed

2

: pitiless, unfeeling

a stony stare

stonily

ˈstōn-ᵊl-ē 

adverb