stony

adjective

ˈstō-nē 

variants or less commonly stoney

stonier; stoniest

1

: abounding in or having the nature of stone : rocky

2

a

: insensitive to pity or human feeling : obdurate

b

: manifesting no movement or reaction : dumb, expressionless

c

: fearfully gripping : petrifying

3

archaic : consisting of or made of stones

4

British : stone broke

stonily

ˈstō-nə-lē 

adverb

stoniness

ˈstō-nē-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• stern
• grim
• ruthless
• harsh
• obdurate
• pitiless
• merciless
• indurate
• tough
• insensate
• callous
• soulless
• unfeeling
• remorseless
• inhuman
• unsympathetic
• affectless
• heartless
• insensitive
• compassionless
• unmerciful
• rough
• thick-skinned
• hard-hearted
• case-hardened
• uncharitable
• unsparing
• oppressive
• inhumane
• hard

Examples of stony in a Sentence

She gave him a stony stare.

the judge's stony demeanor didn't raise the defendant's hopes for a more lenient sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

No expensive meter running that is racking up hefty bills and stony fees. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025

On the palate, fresh red cherry, juicy melon, and stony minerality. —Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 26 June 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

And most of those business people tend to have rather stony, cold, dead eyes. —Andrew Tobias, Vulture, 7 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing stony

• stony broke

Rhymes for stony

• boney
• boni
• bony
• coney
• crony
• monie
• mony
• phoney
• phony
• stoney
• toney
• tony

Kids Definition

stony

adjective

variants also stoney

ˈstō-nē 

stonier; stoniest

1

a

: full of stones

stony soil

b

: hard as stone

a stony seed

2

: pitiless, unfeeling

a stony stare

stonily

ˈstōn-ᵊl-ē 

adverb