stonily
/'stounili/
Definition
- Adverb:
- In an emotionally cold, hard, or unfeeling manner: Describes a way of behaving, speaking, or looking that shows a complete lack of warmth, sympathy, or emotion.
- In a rigid, fixed, or impassive manner: Describes a way of acting or appearing that is unmoving and unresponsive, like stone.
Usage Examples
- Adverb:
- She stared stonily at the horizon, refusing to acknowledge his apology.
- The guard listened stonily to the prisoner's pleas.
- He received the bad news stonily, showing no outward reaction.
Advanced Usage
- "stonily silent": completely and coldly silent, refusing to speak.
- After the argument, he remained stonily silent for hours.
- "stonily indifferent": showing a cold and complete lack of interest or concern.
- The official was stonily indifferent to the complaints of the citizens.
Variants and Related Words
- Stony (adj): Resembling stone in hardness or lack of feeling; unfeeling.
- He gave me a stony look.
- Stone (n): The hard, solid material; often used metaphorically for hardness or coldness.
- A heart of stone.
Synonyms
- Coldly: In an unfriendly or unemotional way.
- Impassively: Without emotion or expression.
- Expressionlessly: Without showing any feeling on one's face.
Related Phrases
- With a stony face/expression: With a face that shows no emotion.
- He listened with a stony expression.
Related Idioms
- (As) hard as stone: Very hard or unfeeling.
- His expression was as hard as stone.
Adverb
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in a stony manner
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stonily indifferent to time
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