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
Stepping onto the platform of the railway station, the stony walls of West Yorkshire flashed it immediately back to me.
—
Emily Van Duyne
july 24, Literary Hub, 24 July 2025
The palate showcases green apple notes, with crisp acidity and a stony, minerally finish—a precise, refined, and structured sparkling wine.
—Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
He was met with stony silence from Weinstein for both personal and business reasons.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 10 June 2025
So the stony face and downbeat tone were no real surprise.
—Steve Madeley, New York Times, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for stony
Emily Van Duyne
july 24, Literary Hub, 24 July 2025
The palate showcases green apple notes, with crisp acidity and a stony, minerally finish—a precise, refined, and structured sparkling wine.
—Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
He was met with stony silence from Weinstein for both personal and business reasons.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 10 June 2025
So the stony face and downbeat tone were no real surprise.
—Steve Madeley, New York Times, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for stony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stony
Adjective
-
Its 42-foot Torpedo RS is built with a more dramatic hourglass profile, enhanced by stylish stern winglets that deliver sharper turns and a drier ride in swells.—
Michael Verdon,
Robb Report,
26 Oct. 2025
-
China conducted military exercises in Serbia in July despite stern warnings from the European Union, and Belgrade provides Beijing with a security foothold in Europe.—
Chris Massaro,
FOXNews.com,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
With its sadistic violence, taboo sexuality, and grim depiction of postwar London, Peeping Tom was a flop that essentially ended the illustrious career of director Michael Powell, falling into obscurity until Martin Scorsese rescued it and rehabilitated its reputation with a 1979 rerelease.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Oct. 2025
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In that sense, however, Farrell’s naturally grim demeanor fits right in.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Those hoping to snatch a home in this busy period faced limited options on the market, as the country’s developers had chronically underbuilt compared to demand in the years following the subprime mortgage crisis, leading to ruthless bidding wars and climbing home values.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Hedda orchestrates a ruthless game of manipulation, where lust, jealousy and betrayal collide.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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According to the woman, her parents’ reasoning for denying her requests was rooted in a harsh lesson about independence.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
26 Oct. 2025
-
Instead of buying special cleaners or reaching for harsh chemicals to clean around your home, look to your medicine cabinet for a solution.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
But Vučić has remained obdurate.—
Hanna Begić,
The Conversation,
29 Sep. 2025
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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
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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
-
Just clean, merciless, fundamental football.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
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Chat members were merciless in their rhetoric against fellow Young Republicans in competing factions of the organization.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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 2 Nov. 2025.
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