variants
also boney
1
as in skinny
having a noticeably small amount of body fat
that bony old horse may have been deliberately starved
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
bony hills from which sheepherders eked out a meager existence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bony
Then stand or sit while bending forward at the waist, pinching the soft part of the nose below the bony portion on both sides for 10 minutes.
—
Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2023
Riders follow the instructions of Redbeard (given via onboard audio), which include finding and counting gems along the shore, looking out for bony opponents in Skeleton Valley and participating in a seaworthy singalong near the finale.
—Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2023
Santiago Calatrava is best known for bridges that leap and budgets that soar, for vast and bony white-steel structures that evoke high-tech ruins of the future and cause fiscal ruin in the present.
—Curbed, 6 Dec. 2022
There are two types of fish, cartilaginous and bony.
—Orlando Mayorquin, USA TODAY, 21 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for bony
Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Jan. 2023
Riders follow the instructions of Redbeard (given via onboard audio), which include finding and counting gems along the shore, looking out for bony opponents in Skeleton Valley and participating in a seaworthy singalong near the finale.
—Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2023
Santiago Calatrava is best known for bridges that leap and budgets that soar, for vast and bony white-steel structures that evoke high-tech ruins of the future and cause fiscal ruin in the present.
—Curbed, 6 Dec. 2022
There are two types of fish, cartilaginous and bony.
—Orlando Mayorquin, USA TODAY, 21 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for bony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bony
Adjective
-
Bears begin emerging from their winter dens, with adult males appearing first to look for food, often appearing skinny and hungry, according to DEEP.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Some huddled near skinny trees.—
Caitlin Dickerson,
The Atlantic,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For one thing, the landscape is barren, the trees have yet to blossom and the lawns are all brown.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 Mar. 2026
-
James Walker Tufts, the Boston soda entrepreneur and philanthropist, surely sensed it while traveling through the area at the end of the 19th century, prompting him to buy 5,800 acres in the Sandhills that had been left barren by lumber harvesting.—
Caleb Silver,
Southern Living,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The water pressure then causes the vehicle to rise and slide on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road, making the driver lose control.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Loose Flashings Flashings are thin materials—typically made from metals like aluminum or copper—that are installed at joints and penetrations on roofs and walls including chimneys, valleys, windows, and vents.—
Asia London Palomba,
The Spruce,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
His work can be gritty, like an act of discovery, as his camera pops in and out of shadows, through desolate, post-apocalyptic shops and office buildings.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
-
At the southernmost tip of South America lies a 400,000-acre wilderness once considered too desolate to survive.—
Mark Johanson,
Outside,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
For example, a stop sign might as well be a tall, slender man with a large red hat!—
Etiido Uko
March 14,
New Atlas,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Night begins with a brand-new two-door 1967 Pontiac LeMans crawling on vertiginous Franklin Road outside Evans City, Pennsylvania, before making a hairpin turn up a steep, slender dirt road that leads into the famous cemetery.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Salt was another luxury for the impoverished migrants.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Cinema-going culture has struggled to take hold in much of South Africa, particularly in townships and other impoverished communities, prompting the organizers to focus on building that culture in the next generation of South African moviegoers and filmmakers.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Republicans are supposed to be the party of smaller, leaner, more efficient government.—
Steve Bousquet,
Sun Sentinel,
14 Mar. 2026
-
The alt-pop singer, 40, says Dad is getting better by the day, keeping up with physical therapy, staying fit and lean, and, perhaps most of all, maintaining a positive attitude.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
While youth suicide remains a leading cause of death, the youth suicide rate is down in Colorado, and the number of kids reporting poor mental health also dropped from 23% in 2023 to 14% in 2025.—
Shaun Boyd,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
The launch came amid overcast skies and a weather forecast that was reduced to just a 75% chance for good conditions, according to Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron, which also noted a moderate risk for poor conditions at the booster landing site.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bony. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
