Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who attacks by throwing stones: Specifically, an individual who pelts a victim with stones, often with lethal intent. This is a literal and historical use of the term.
   • A person who is habitually under the influence of cannabis: In modern, informal slang, a "stoner" refers to a person who frequently smokes or consumes marijuana.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Historical/Literal):
  • The crowd accused him of being a stoner who had attacked the soldiers during the riot.
• Noun (Modern Slang):
  • He's known as a stoner because he spends most of his time listening to music and smoking weed.
  • The movie is a comedy about a group of stoners on a misadventure.

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in its modern, informal sense in contemporary English. The historical/literal sense is now very rare and may be found in historical texts or specific reports.
• It carries a connotation of habitual use and a associated lifestyle, often implying laziness or a lack of ambition in stereotypical depictions.

Variants and Related Words

• Stone (verb): To throw stones at someone, especially to kill them.
  • The mob threatened to stone the criminal.
• Stoned (adjective): The state of being under the influence of cannabis.
  • After smoking, he felt completely stoned.

Synonyms

• Pothead: (Informal, slang) A person who smokes marijuana frequently.
• Cannabis user: (More formal, neutral) A person who uses cannabis.

Notes on Meaning

• The two meanings are distinct and context-dependent. The slang meaning is vastly more common in everyday conversation, film, and media.
• The term is generally informal and can be considered derogatory or judgmental, depending on the tone and context. It is not a polite or clinical term.

Noun

1. an attacker who pelts the victim with stones (especially with intent to kill)