variants
also stoney
as in stern
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
the judge's stony demeanor didn't raise the defendant's hopes for a more lenient sentence
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of stony
Give her the chance to play pathos, and Squibb can crack your stony heart in half.
—
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025
According to the Earth Impact Effects Program calculator, developed by Imperial College in London, U.K., a stony asteroid the size of 2025 FA22 could cause a crater 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Its stony soil and cool climate produce lower yields, but more expressive flavors, especially in chardonnay, pinot noir, and sparkling wines.
—Alexandra Emanuelli, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2025
But Bana is not as believable when asked to drop his stony demeanor and display vulnerability, a shortcoming that hampers his arc in the back half of the season.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stony
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025
According to the Earth Impact Effects Program calculator, developed by Imperial College in London, U.K., a stony asteroid the size of 2025 FA22 could cause a crater 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Its stony soil and cool climate produce lower yields, but more expressive flavors, especially in chardonnay, pinot noir, and sparkling wines.
—Alexandra Emanuelli, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2025
But Bana is not as believable when asked to drop his stony demeanor and display vulnerability, a shortcoming that hampers his arc in the back half of the season.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stony
Adjective
-
Marc Skinner’s side will face far sterner challenges.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
-
However, getting first-team reps has come with a stern warning.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Unlike the grim feeling around schools like Florida, everyone here desperately wants Venables to be the right guy.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
-
Jill Biden, meanwhile, is portrayed as a grim figure.—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
With war looming and chaos consuming the kingdom — drawing in the ruthless kings of other Scandinavian countries and even a powerful English ruler — the stage is set for a thundering, cataclysmic and utterly magical new Norse saga.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
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The company is famous for its creative but ruthless approach to cost cutting.—
Patrick George,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Never use bleach to clean the toilet tank as this harsh chemical can damage the tank's interior and lead to faster corrosion.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
11 Oct. 2025
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Except, much like the prison scenes, Kiss of the Spider Woman‘s reality ends up being much harsher than the fantasy.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
But Vučić has remained obdurate.—
Hanna Begić,
The Conversation,
29 Sep. 2025
-
Most of these initiatives met obdurate resistance from more powerful sectors of the state, and by the end of Khatami’s second term, in 2005, the reform movement had lost much of its momentum.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The film’s only real villain is Al Pacino, doing a Colonel Sanders accent as Richard’s father M.L. Hall, whose pitiless rigidity stands in for capitalism as a whole.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
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Each failure rekindled the gravitational pull of an existential, pitiless struggle.—
Hussein Agha,
New Yorker,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The novel intertwines present-day events with painful memories of the lives of her parents, who tried to protect their love from war, jealousy, and the cruelty of the merciless Soviet government.—
Nelly Klos
September 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
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In the present day, Lockjaw reenters Bob and Willa’s lives with merciless force, deploying troops from his immigration taskforce on Baktan Cross, the sanctuary city where Bob and Willa have been laying low in the 16 years since Pat became Bob and baby Charlene, Willa, as the two went on the lam.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
His characters strive to achieve things—such as love, self-command, or financial success—but those efforts are made ironic in the face of a world that, while sometimes beautiful to look at, remains indurate to human happiness.—
Scott Bradfield,
The New Republic,
24 Jan. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Stony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stony. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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