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
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
The reef is home to 45 species of stony corals, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and 6,000 species of marine line total.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 3 July 2025
The typically blustery course, located along the stony shore of Sandwich Bay, was calm during the first round, which began at 6:45am.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stony
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
The reef is home to 45 species of stony corals, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and 6,000 species of marine line total.
—Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 3 July 2025
The typically blustery course, located along the stony shore of Sandwich Bay, was calm during the first round, which began at 6:45am.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for stony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stony
Adjective
-
TelevisaUnivsion issued a stern statement of displeasure at the situation.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
2 Oct. 2025
-
In a series of rulings on motions brought by Combs after his conviction, Judge Subramanian has been stern.—
Jodi Guglielmi,
Rolling Stone,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
At the core of the GOP’s shutdown argument is painting a grim picture of any non-citizen receiving any government benefit.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
2 Oct. 2025
-
In her usual soft-spoken British accent, she was known for balancing the grim realities of the climate crisis with a sincere message of hope for the future.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Their methods—ruthless melodic math, brazenly artificial production, and an odd soft spot for reggae rhythms—helped define the world-conquering sound of Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
3 Oct. 2025
-
To play someone whose world is so beautiful on the surface but whose secrets are ruthless has been an exhilarating challenge.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The triumphant narrative began to fray when exceedingly harsh lockdown measures could no longer contain the spread of the virus, and the staggering human cost in the name of protecting lives defied all logic.—
Yangyang Cheng,
NPR,
4 Oct. 2025
-
There are no easy fixes, so figuring out how to cushion the harsh impact will be the basis of negotiations with other parties in the Japanese legislature, the Diet.—
Jeff Kingston,
Time,
4 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
-
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 6 Oct. 2025.
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