I. adjective
also stoney ˈstōnē, -ni
( stonier ; stoniest )
Etymology: Middle English stany, stony, stoony, from Old English stānig, from stān stone + -ig -y — more at stone
1. : abounding in or having the nature of stone : full of or containing many stones : rocky
an infertile stony ridge — C.B.Hitchcock
the ground was stony under heel — David Goldknopf
2.
a. : insensitive to pity or human feeling : hardhearted , obdurate
the city wasn't so stony and inhospitable as she had believed — Ellen Glasgow
the story should soften the stoniest of hearts — J.D.Adams
presented a stony front to … pleas for herself and the child — S.H.Adams
b. : manifesting no movement or reaction : dumb , expressionless
their faces were stony , their eyes wide open and staring — Jan Valtin
lighted her own cigarette … and smoked in stony , irritating silence — Clive Arden
c. : fearfully gripping : petrifying
man's … stony knowledge of his own mortality — Maeve Brennan
3. archaic : consisting of or made of stones
4. : similar to stone in substance : hard
layers are spotted with the stony remains of ocean forms — American Guide Series: Minnesota
the shellfish crawls out of its … stony case — R.W.Emerson
5. : stone-broke
my father and I were stony and had a lot of debts — Louis Bromfield
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
Etymology: Middle English stonien, from Middle French estoner — more at astony
obsolete : to numb the feelings or faculties of (a person) : stupefy , stun