bony

adjective

ˈbō-nē How to pronounce bony (audio)
variants also boney
Definition of bonynext
1
as in skinny
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

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 Its bony head armor was more like that of Asian ankyloaurs than ones from North America. — Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 19 July 2018 See All Example Sentences for bony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bony
  1. skinny
  2. barren
  3. thin
  4. desolate
  5. slender
  6. impoverished
  7. lean
  8. poor
Adjective
  • The junior right-hander can be rolling to his left, then plant, turn and fire a pass, with his long, skinny arm, 60 yards downfield and right on the money.
    — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026
  • While at the airport, the singer wore skinny jeans and a white tee, styled with bauble earrings and a black-and-white fringe jacket.
    — Kelsey Stiegman, InStyle, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of skinny
Adjective
  • Supposedly posing a threat to their idyll on the outskirts are various marauding splinter groups running amok through the barren wasteland of the American Mountain West.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough, Swansea City and Birmingham City, all now Championship clubs, have won silverware during Everton’s three barren decades.
    — Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of barren
Adjective
  • Days turn crisp, aspens begin streaking the valley with gold and summer crowds thin in Grand Teton National Park.
    — Brittany Anas, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Unlike mainstream fusion projects such as tokamaks, the Texatron does not rely on giant superconducting magnets to hold a thin gas in place for long periods.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of thin
Adjective
  • Exploring Indonesia—an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands—over more than a decade has led me to some truly jaw-dropping beaches, some gloriously desolate, others vibrantly alive with international travelers, expats, and locals.
    — Kathryn Romeyn, Travel + Leisure, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Noisemaker feels a genuine kinship with the Gallico story, including its setting, a desolate stretch of coastline in eastern England.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of desolate
Adjective
  • Several other curved, slender bones were soon found nearby, according to pictures shared with the station.
    — Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
  • One, which was a slender ribbon of saplings and grass, led to the grainfield where Kontras had been waiting.
    — Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of slender
Adjective
  • But perhaps the most impressive thing the seemingly tireless Parton did during her 80 years was donate much of her wealth to impoverished communities.
    — Donna Vickroy, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The loosened restrictions will not empower Washington to pursue investment and economic cooperation with al Sharaa’s government, which could transform the impoverished country.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of impoverished
Adjective
  • Some lenders use standard factors by industry; others will accept a letter from a CPA attesting to the business’s actual expense ratio, which can meaningfully improve the income calculation for a lean operation.
    — Karen Koehler, Miami Herald, 31 Aug. 2026
  • This comes on top of higher home prices, which seem to now be accelerating again in some parts of the country, due to lean supply.
    — Diana Olick, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of lean
Adjective
  • Dozens of companies have withdrawn over the past decades due to poor profits, an uncertain business outlook and concerns about harm to their reputations from making arms, especially lethal weapons.
    — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Along the way, the audience can expect tons of humiliation, terrible second prizes, and the guarantee that Robertson will turn at least one poor soul's wrong turn into several minutes of unhinged public destruction.
    — Rebecca Rosman, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of poor

Browse Nearby Words

bon voyages
bony
boo
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Cite this Entry

“Bony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bony. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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