tony

adjective \ ˈtō-nē \

variants: or less commonly toney

Updated on: 14 May 2018

tonier; toniest

: marked by an aristocratic or high-toned manner or style

tony private schools

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Recent Examples of tony from the Web

Although Vollmann and his radiation oncologist wife live in a two-story house in a tony neighborhood, the author spends days and sometimes a week at a time at this fortress of solitude when immersed in projects, which is always.

— allen pierleoni, latimes.com, "William T. Vollmann turns his mammoth talents to climate change," 11 May 2018
What also hasn’t hurt: a robust construction cycle driven in part by post-recession demand, continued corporate relocations to the Loop and an influx of young professionals and retiring baby boomers seeking to move to tony downtown neighborhoods.

— bill ruthhart, chicagotribune.com, "Exclusive: Two soaring towers planned for long-languishing Chicago Spire site along Lake Shore Drive," 11 May 2018
Inner Loop River Oaks Shopping Center The first structures in this 322,000-square-foot shopping district along a tony stretch of West Gray were built in the 1930s (the historic theater here is one of the city's few indie options).

— Houston Chronicle, "Where to shop 'til you drop in Houston," 10 May 2018
The victims worked for the Chinese Educational Mission and were assassinated in the city’s tony Kalorama neighborhood.

— scott d. seligman, Smithsonian, "The Triple Homicide in D.C. That Laid the Groundwork for Americans’ Right to Remain Silent," 30 Apr. 2018
The elder Garcetti noted that the family moved from their 3-bedroom house in a middle-class section of Encino to the tony neighborhood of Brentwood when Garcetti was in high school.

— maeve reston and video by gabe ramirez, CNN, "Why LA's Mexican-American-Jewish-Italian mayor is spending time in Iowa and South Carolina," 21 Apr. 2018
Many of these attempts died almost immediately, while others (particularly the 2009 debut The Good Wife) attracted smaller, tonier audiences.

— todd vanderwerff, Vox, "5 ways Scandal changed television forever," 19 Apr. 2018
She was born on June 8, 1925, the third of four children, and grew up in the tony New York City bedroom community of Rye.

— USA TODAY, "A look at six generations of the Bush family," 17 Apr. 2018
In 1998, Sean Combs — aka Diddy — announced his arrival in the tony enclave of East Hampton by throwing a Labor Day party at his new house on Hedges Banks Drive.

— chris gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, "The Hamptons' "Modern-Day Gatsby": Diddy's White Party Turns 20," 16 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tony.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of tony

1877

in the meaning defined above

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Tony

noun To·ny \ ˈtō-nē \

plural Tonys

: a medallion awarded annually by a professional organization for notable achievement in the theater

See Tony defined for English-language learners

Origin and Etymology of tony

Tony, nickname of Antoinette Perry †1946 American actress & producer

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1947

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

TONY Defined for English Language Learners

tony

adjective

: very expensive and fashionable

Tony

noun

: an award given every year in New York City for the best plays, actors, directors, etc., in the theater

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