flinty

/flinty/

Thân thiện

His flinty expression did not soften at the news.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Hard and unyielding in character or expression: Describes a person, their demeanor, or their gaze as being stern, cold, and showing no sympathy or softness.
   • Containing or resembling flint: Describes something that is composed of or has the hard, sharp qualities of the stone flint.

Usage and Examples

• Describing a person's character or expression:
  • The manager's flinty resolve ensured the project was completed on time, despite the setbacks.
  • She met the bad news with a flinty silence, refusing to show any emotion.
• Describing a material or landscape:
  • The soil in that region is flinty and difficult to farm.
  • They hiked across a flinty plateau under the harsh sun.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• "Flinty" often implies a toughness that is admirable in contexts requiring resilience, but negative in contexts requiring compassion.
  • His flinty determination was what the company needed during the crisis. (Positive connotation of strength)
  • Her flinty response to the plea for help shocked everyone. (Negative connotation of coldness)
• It can be used metaphorically to describe things that are harsh or unforgiving.
  • The flinty reality of their situation finally dawned on them.

Variants and Related Words

• Flint (n): A hard gray rock, a form of quartz, that produces sparks when struck against steel.
• Flintlike (adj): Similar in meaning to "flinty," emphasizing hardness or unyielding quality.

Synonyms

• Obdurate: Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action.
• Adamant: Refusing to be persuaded or to change one's mind.
• Stony: Having a hard, cold, and unsympathetic expression or demeanor.
• Unfeeling: Lacking sympathy or compassion.
• Hard-hearted: Incapable of being moved to pity or tenderness.

Idioms and Fixed Phrases

• A flinty heart: An idiom describing someone as very hard-hearted or unfeeling.
  • The tyrant was said to have a flinty heart, unmoved by the suffering of his people.
• A flinty gaze/stare: A common collocation describing a hard, piercing look.
  • He fixed his opponent with a flinty stare.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. showing unfeeling resistance to tender feelings
   • his flinty gaze
   • the child's misery would move even the most obdurate heart
2. containing flint

Từ đồng nghĩa

• flint
• granitic
• obdurate
• stony