steely
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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Real-life proprietor Andrea Pruett, a sweet but steely Southerner who kept her own gun behind the counter, greeted them in French and German, then fed them buffalo burgers and omelets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
With his slick black hair and steely gaze, he was practically born for the part.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Cape Verde took a more attacking and expansive approach in their second Group H outing against Uruguay, but also demonstrated their steely resolve by grabbing a second-half equaliser.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
The Knicks’ steely defense held Victor Wembanyama to just 3 points in the fourth quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
Her eyes soften, and the steely, Blackcliff-trained part of me shakes its head.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
But I find it hard to conceive that the image her leadership so desperately courts—a renegade broadcast company, steelier, rawer, and ineffably realer than its competitors—will ever take hold.
From Slate ● Jan. 6, 2026
This was a steelier Scotland, especially when having to cope with the disappointment of losing one of their leaders to what looked like a bad injury.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2024
Only when the topic of the closure came up did the owner’s friendly manner shift into something steelier.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2023
She often plays sunny characters with something steelier underneath.
From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2019
Slowly, as they kept talking, his face got steelier and steelier.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
There’s something about this storied tournament that can make even the steeliest of players weak in the knees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
Russians are famously great chess players, yet there are moments when even the steeliest grandmasters find their initial advances on the board blocked and must adjust strategy.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2022
The work can bring some of the steeliest to crumble.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2021
Ah, the smile of Kirk: one of the steeliest blades in cinema, unrusted by the years.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 9, 2016
His young charge said no more; he only looked at his beaming preceptor with eyes cold with the steeliest contempt.
From Happy Pollyooly The Rich Little Poor Girl by Edgar Jepson
