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
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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
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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
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In addition, antimony chalcogenide has a high light absorption coefficient, meaning skinny layers can efficiently capture sunlight.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Jan. 2026
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The not skinny, not wide-leg style is super wearable and adds a modern element to your look, while maintaining comfort thanks to the looser-fit.—
Reece Andavolgyi,
InStyle,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The president cites national security concerns—despite existing approvals to expand militarily—and the potentially rich natural resources on the icy, largely barren territory.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
21 Jan. 2026
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And where there was once snow and ice just a few decades ago, there are now areas of shrub, along with barren rock and wetlands, the 2024 study reported.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
17 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Once markets started moving lower, thin liquidity intensified such price movements, according to several analysts who provided input for this article.—
Charles Lloyd Bovaird II,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Brush top of crust with egg, then sprinkle remaining ⅓ cup sliced almonds over in a thin layer.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Gibney illustrates that state of waiting, of staving off what at that time appears to be the inevitable, with the famous sequence from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, in which Max von Sydow’s medieval knight plays chess with Death on a desolate beach.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Jan. 2026
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Tautly written, this first novel by a former criminal lawyer who spent 17 years in the Arctic is a hard look at the desolate lives of people resigned to life in the bleak far north.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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L’Epée 1839 reinterpreted La Regatta as a Métiers d’Art creation with Georgian enameler David Kakabadze, designed as a vertical clock with a long, slender silhouette drawn from a racing skiff through a blue, rare flinqué enameling technique.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
19 Jan. 2026
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Part of this reflects the culture in South Korea, where rigid beauty standards have traditionally valued fair skin, slender physiques and hyper-feminine features.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The minerals Kajumba and hundreds of thousands of impoverished Congolese were digging up allowed the rest of the world to enjoy the benefits of electricity, but the benefits to the people of Congo were woefully limited.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
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Brooks speaks colorfully and candidly, starting with his impoverished Brooklyn childhood, raised with three brothers by his mother after his father died of tuberculosis.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Buffalo steaks are also very lean and should be cooked rare to medium.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
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Supplement the benefits of glucomannan with healthy, fresh veggies and lean proteins.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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According to Jabra’s research, 99% of knowledge workers say poor audio quality impacts their online meetings and call quality.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
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While the pandemic hit everyone all at once, the recovery from that jolt has taken place on two diverging tracks, with the well-off getting wealthier and the poor getting poorer.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bony. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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