steely
adjective/ˈstiːli/
/ˈstiːli/
(steelier, steeliest)
- (of a person’s character or behaviour) strong, hard and unfriendly
- a cold, steely voice
- a look of steely determination
- She shivered at the slightly steely note in his voice.
- Her voice was steely and no one dared argue with her.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- like steel in colour
- steely blue eyes
- The sky was cold and steely.
Check pronunciation:
steely