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
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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
-
Isle of Palms Affectionately known as IOP by the locals, this skinny barrier island boasts multi-story houses flanked by palm trees and pools as the default.—
Stephanie Burt,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Apr. 2026
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But now plus-size shoppers say inclusive sizing is dwindling, as the rise of GLP-1s fuels worries about a return of skinny culture – a fashion and culture resurgence in thinness.—
Ramishah Maruf,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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It cannot be maintained in such barren ground.—
David B Mcgarry,
Oc Register,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Haggerty noted what the Artemis crew saw on the moon’s surface, including steep canyon walls and barren wasteland.—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Life360 Ultra Slim Bluetooth Tracker The Tile Slim is a credit-card-thin tracker for your essentials.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Winter can leave lawns patchy, beds overgrown and mulch looking thin.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
6 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The field, a desolate oil patch, will eventually be the central location for what became known as the Texas Killing Fields.—
John Wayne Ferguson,
Houston Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
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Miller and Cook were two of four young women whose bodies were found between 1984 and 1991 in a rural field off a desolate dirt road in League City, located about 28 miles (45 kilometers) southeast of Houston.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
To achieve such slender proportions, Rexhepi had to rethink the movement’s architecture.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
6 Apr. 2026
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Ribbon Fall, which descends 1,612 feet and marks Yosemite’s single largest drop, is a slender plunge and could be gone by June, Goehring says.—
Kurtis Alexander,
San Francisco Chronicle,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In Raspail’s tale, hordes of impoverished and dark-skinned brutes from India descend onto French shores by way of rafts, the first wave of an invasion of the civilized West by the brown-skinned developing world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
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The youngsters took the train south to the deep, impoverished heart of China.—
Michael Sheridan,
Vanity Fair,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Pork chops are typically a lean cut, so the meat dries out quickly when cooked past 145°F.—
Wini Moranville,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Apr. 2026
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Fredericson says that exercise also supports weight management by affecting appetite, increasing calorie burn and helping preserve lean muscle mass, which is essential for maintaining a healthy metabolism.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Arsenal were pretty poor but won, Sporting were pretty good but lost.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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Ackman blamed its poor share price performance partly on the delay of UMG’s listing in the United States.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
7 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bony. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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