- having a lot of stones on it or in it
- stony soil
- a stony beach
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- showing a lack of feeling or sympathy synonym cold
- They listened to him in stony silence.
- She met Luke’s hard, stony eyes.
Word OriginOld English stānig (see stone, -y).
Idioms
See stony in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryfall on stony ground
- to fail to produce the result or the effect that you hope for; to have little success
- His charming smile fell on stony ground with her.
- The peace initiatives have already fallen on stony ground.
stony broke (British English)
(also flat broke British and North American English)
- (informal) completely broke (= without money)
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stony