flinty

adjective

ˈflin-tē How to pronounce flinty (audio)
flintier; flintiest
Synonyms of flintynext
1
: resembling flint
especially : stern, unyielding
flinty determination
2
: composed of or covered with flint
flintily
ˈflin-tə-lē How to pronounce flinty (audio)
adverb
flintiness
ˈflin-tē-nəs How to pronounce flinty (audio)
noun

Synonyms of flinty

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of flinty in a Sentence

a flinty and determined hero a flinty warrior hardened by years of battle
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Whereas Samaan is almost pathologically unassertive, Fatimah knows how to work her smile as well as her body, covering stark vulnerability with a flinty sense of self-protection. — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026 Luengo, flinty and formidable, gives Emilia’s anger and wary hope equal weight. — Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 19 Sep. 2026 In the Cold War, the idea of the flinty citizen soldier, peacefully tending his field but ready to pick up a weapon at a moment’s notice, was invoked in the struggle against the Soviet Union. — Vivian Yee, New York Times, 20 June 2026 What these roles demonstrate is that Lopez excels at playing flinty women trying to survive who use their wit and cunning to outsmart the men around them. — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 8 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for flinty

Word History

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of flinty was in 1536

Rhymes for flinty

See All Rhymes for flinty

Browse Nearby Words

flintworker
flinty
flip
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Flinty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flinty. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All