variants
also boney
1
as in thin
having a noticeably small amount of body fat
that bony old horse may have been deliberately starved
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
bony hills from which sheepherders eked out a meager existence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bony
Riders follow the instructions of Redbeard (given via onboard audio), which include finding and counting gems along the shore, looking out for bony opponents in Skeleton Valley and participating in a seaworthy singalong near the finale.
—
Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2023
Santiago Calatrava is best known for bridges that leap and budgets that soar, for vast and bony white-steel structures that evoke high-tech ruins of the future and cause fiscal ruin in the present.
—Curbed, 6 Dec. 2022
Its bony head armor was more like that of Asian ankyloaurs than ones from North America.
—Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 19 July 2018
There are two types of fish, cartilaginous and bony.
—Orlando Mayorquin, USA TODAY, 21 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for bony
Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2023
Santiago Calatrava is best known for bridges that leap and budgets that soar, for vast and bony white-steel structures that evoke high-tech ruins of the future and cause fiscal ruin in the present.
—Curbed, 6 Dec. 2022
Its bony head armor was more like that of Asian ankyloaurs than ones from North America.
—Eric Betz, Discover Magazine, 19 July 2018
There are two types of fish, cartilaginous and bony.
—Orlando Mayorquin, USA TODAY, 21 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for bony
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bony
Adjective
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The water pressure then causes the vehicle to rise and slide on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road, making the driver lose control.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2025
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The Land-Dweller comes in 36 mm and 40 mm sizes, both just 9.7 mm thin.—
Steven Rogers,
Robb Report,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Charlie Parker’s Favorite Painting (1946) indicates Abercrombie’s engagement with social issues: a yellow noose, nearly fluorescent against a dishwater sky, dangles from a barren tree—an oblique lament from the doggedly antiracist Abercrombie.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
ARTnews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Meanwhile, the patch of skin to the ’22 trophy’s left looks almost barren.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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With their lanky legs and slender necks, sandhill cranes stand roughly three to four feet tall.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
28 Mar. 2025
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Since the crescent moon is both very slender after the new moon and visible for only a short period in the west above the sunset, it may be sighted on Sunday, March 30, but more likely on Monday, March 31.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Fourteen years of war have left the country desolate, and its people exhausted; millions have been displaced or were forced to become refugees.—
Raghed Waked & Justin Salhani,
The Dial,
25 Mar. 2025
-
That quality is maintained first and foremost by a desolate whistling-wind sound effect in the background of all the scenes, along with a sustained droning musical score.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The TikTok comments were replete with speculation that the friends may have even been skinny dipping—though Horton declined to confirm this.—
Gordon G. Chang,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Apr. 2025
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After what feels like years of obsessing over eyebrow trends (skinny, perfectly bushy, bleached) to treatments like lamination and microblading, learning to love the unruly swirls that appear in our brows just feels right.—
Dulce Moncada,
Glamour,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
There’s a real debate to be had about what responsibility better-off neighborhoods like Hyde Park have to help solve humanitarian problems that often are laid at the feet of poorer areas.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Apr. 2025
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The weather bulletin, which was issued at 12:29 a.m., warned of flash flooding in small creeks, streams, urban areas, highways, streets, underpasses, low-lying areas and places with poor drainage.—
Holly Yan,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Musk’s image in Silicon Valley was useful to the Trump campaign, bringing in new fanboy voters and sending a message that the administration would transform the government and run it like a lean start-up.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
2 Apr. 2025
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Keep in mind, too, that once your body begins to build lean muscle mass, which occurs mainly from strength training, your resting metabolic rate will increase.—
Melanie Radzicki McManus,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The coming-of-age story finds a new generation of young women in Gilead, grappling with the bleak future that awaits them.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
1 Apr. 2025
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Stocks had sold off sharply last Friday, amid growing uncertainty on U.S. trade policy and a bleak inflation outlook.—
Amala Balakrishner,
CNBC,
30 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bony.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bony. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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