variants
also boney
1
as in thin
having a noticeably small amount of body fat
that bony old horse may have been deliberately starved
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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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
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Leaders who pay attention to these lessons now will be best prepared to thrive in a world where the boundaries between Earth and orbit are becoming ever thinner.—
Bernard Marr,
Forbes.com,
12 Sep. 2025
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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.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The team wasn’t able to completely rule out that TRAPPIST-1e is a barren rock like its inner siblings, however, partly because of interference from its hyperactive star.—
Jonathan O'Callaghan,
Scientific American,
8 Sep. 2025
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The local Rite Aid was getting ready to shut down, with barren shelves and 75% off all items, while commerce elsewhere in the town of less than 3,000 people wasn’t exactly bustling.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This further shrank the already slender Republican House majority.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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There are several superstar cameos, and they’re nicely integrated into the movie’s slender plot.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The lock screen on the Mac remains a desolate place, relative to the same area in both iOS and iPadOS—this is still a no-notifications, no-widgets zone that exists only to keep your Mac locked.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 Sep. 2025
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While the rest of Burning Man celebrated, Kruglov lay prostrate on the ground at a faraway campsite in a comparatively desolate section of Black Rock City, his throat slashed, as a puddle of blood congealed around his lifeless body.—
Denver Nicks,
Rolling Stone,
14 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Struggling to put on a pair of tight skinny jeans has become a thing of the past.—
Melody Kazel,
PEOPLE,
14 Sep. 2025
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On a first-and-10 from the UC 34-yard line, Arnold took a shotgun snap and hit receiver Sean Lander on a skinny post for a 34-yard touchdown.—
Clark Fahrenthold,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Cutting carbs entirely can raise the risk of cholesterol, kidney stones, poor bone health, gut problems, and even cancer, added Stefanki.—
Caitlin Pagán,
Verywell Health,
11 Sep. 2025
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Before Wednesday’s game, people within the organization were optimistic about Helsley putting his tipping problem and overall poor pitching behind him, pointing to a clean inning Monday.—
Will Sammon,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Rizzoli’s anchovy fillets were leaner than what our panel preferred.—
Bon Appétit,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
10 Sep. 2025
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The result is a resilient, insight-ready infrastructure that supports faster investigations, leaner maintenance and more agile process improvement—without compromising the stringent regulatory environment that defines the industry.—
Nagesh Nama,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Yes, there are good reasons to question NASA's long-term plans for the Artemis lunar program—the woeful cost of the Space Launch System rocket, the complexity of new commercial landers, and a bleak budget outlook.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
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That's rather bleak, while Charlie Sheen's life has just been bonkers.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bony. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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