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
  • Police described the intruder as a 6-foot-tall skinny Black man between 30 and 40 years old, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.
    — Logan Hall, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Their Dom Sandals feature skinny, understated straps, including one around the ankle/back of the foot for security.
    — Anna Traver, InStyle, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of skinny
Adjective
  • Much of the lunar surface is pretty barren, but the South Pole, and Shackleton Crater in particular, offers some of the most coveted real estate there.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Despite being named after a mineral that’s most often found in barren deserts, turquoise nails are making a splash this summer.
    — Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of barren
Adjective
  • Handling compliments about weight loss The pressure to be thinner is reinforced when someone loses weight, whether from a GLP-1 or any other reason.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The depth there was already thin even before the Dexter Lawrence trade or Roy Robertson-Harris injury.
    — Charlotte Carroll, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of thin
Adjective
  • The desolate landscape and little human occupation thereafter helped preserve the rock art through centuries of exposure to wind, rain, and sun.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Aug. 2026
  • In July 1991, Gerard Dorsey was gunned down in an alley off North Brice Street in a desolate West Baltimore alley.
    — Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of desolate
Adjective
  • Researchers also examined measurement techniques for slender flying-wing shapes.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Guests at Brookfield Zoo can identify her in Dolphin Bay by her distinctive features, including faint white lines along the sides of her head and chest, pink coloration on the underside of her slender rostrum, and gray ventral side.
    — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of slender
Adjective
  • The destination, made up of the wealthy Hightown and the impoverished Lowtown, is often linked to Wolverine, due to his exploits in the area.
    — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Aug. 2026
  • More recently, a rolling cast of content creators has taken to making day trips to Blackpool’s roughest wards to capitalize on the environs of its impoverished communities.
    — George Francis Lee, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of impoverished
Adjective
  • Mass General Brigham researchers note that loss of lean body mass happens with any significant weight loss, not just weight loss driven by these drugs.
    — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Another Solid Wood Option These Rejuvenation bar stools with a midcentury-modern lean look right at home in senior shopping editor Nashia Baker’s Brooklyn apartment, where most of the furniture and decor already followed the design style.
    — Kelly Dawson, Architectural Digest, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of lean
Adjective
  • On the other lies a park in one of the Bronx’s poorest communities, built on the site of the former Yankee Stadium after the old home of the Yankees was torn down in 2009 and 2010.
    — Sam Blum, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Iran’s economy was in a dire state before the war too, with poor economic conditions a key driving factor behind the anti-regime demonstrations which kicked off in the Iranian capital city Tehran in 2025.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 17 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 20 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of bony for Spanish Speakers

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