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
It has long been rumored that the two did not get along, and old interviews posted online purported to spotlight steely interactions between the two of them.
—
Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
Piastri and his camp, led by steely former F1 racer Mark Webber, were frustrated with Alpine’s slow progress towards his F1 graduation.
—Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025
The threat to Charlie and especially Mia escalates with the arrival from Hong Kong of Fong’s mother Clarice, a steely crime matriarch played by an almost unrecognizable Yeo Yann Yann, so memorable in Anthony Chen’s gorgeous domestic drama, Ilo Ilo.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025
Yet even with that freedom, baseball’s steely culture keeps change in check.
—John Cairney, Sportico.com, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for steely
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.
Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2025
Piastri and his camp, led by steely former F1 racer Mark Webber, were frustrated with Alpine’s slow progress towards his F1 graduation.
—Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2025
The threat to Charlie and especially Mia escalates with the arrival from Hong Kong of Fong’s mother Clarice, a steely crime matriarch played by an almost unrecognizable Yeo Yann Yann, so memorable in Anthony Chen’s gorgeous domestic drama, Ilo Ilo.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025
Yet even with that freedom, baseball’s steely culture keeps change in check.
—John Cairney, Sportico.com, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for steely
Cite this Entry
“Steely.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/steely. Accessed 16 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
steely
adjective
steelier; steeliest
1
: made of steel
2
: resembling steel (as in hardness or color)
a steely gaze
steeliness
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share