STONY Synonyms: 112 Similar and Opposite Words

stony

adjective

ˈstō-nē

variants also stoney

Definition of stony

as in ruthless

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

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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 stony In a vast stony tract of desert a three-hour drive south of Cairo, tucked between jagged black mountains and the glittering Gulf of Suez, a group of Chinese engineers is quietly rewiring Egypt’s energy strategy. — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 14 Apr. 2026 Hikers can traverse the stony beds of Cliffy Creek and snap photos of the park's four iconic waterfalls. — Joie Probst, Midwest Living, 10 Apr. 2026 But his landscape paintings of the stony canyons and craggy cliffs that define this part of the country seem to be everywhere these days. — Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 30 Mar. 2026 High Street began to slope upward, and the terrain became stonier around the sides of the road as Revere and his horse, Brown Beauty, ascended Rock Hill. — Kostya Kennedy, Time, 16 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for stony

Recent Examples of Synonyms for stony

Adjective

She is described as brusque, cantankerous, ruthless — and also a killer.

— Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026
Such ruthless prioritization produced some admirable results.

— Julianne Smith, Foreign Affairs, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of ruthless

Adjective

The book’s humor is sharp and merciless, akin to that of a standup comedy show, and yet the things described are far from funny.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2026
Cora, the granddaughter of a woman kidnapped from West Africa and sold into slavery, flees her captor’s plantation, plunging her into the book’s alternate steampunk reality where she is pursued by the merciless slave catcher Ridgeway.

— David Faris, TheWeek, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of merciless

Adjective

Two innings later, the Dodgers took the lead again, rewarded for hard contact as the Brewers’ defense showed its first signs of sloppy play.

— Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Games Can’t Gamble on Talent Opportunities to develop emerging talent are becoming harder to find, particularly in video games, van Beek said.

— Callum McLennan, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of hard

Adjective

And now those still left in the battered city along Ukraine's southeastern front face death from hunger or disease as another harsh winter looms, with no agreement in sight for even a humanitarian evacuation.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
Despite low winds and little rain, harsh surf continues to wreak havoc along Southern California's coastal communities.

— Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of harsh

Adjective

Possibly this was the case at élite law schools in the nineteen-nineties, where even the most obdurate deans could not afford to ignore their militant students indefinitely.

— Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Iran, with its massive military capabilities, its oil wealth, its appetite for regional hegemony and its obdurate Islamism may have been the foremost obstacle to Israel’s integration into the region since 1979.

— Ron Kampeas, Sun Sentinel, 2 Mar. 2026

Definition of obdurate

Browse Nearby Words

stoning

stony

stonyhearted

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“Stony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stony. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of stony

adjective

Example Sentences

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