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Steely, adj.
Pronunciation: stēlē
Meaning: Although this word can be used in the sense of resembling steel in color or brightness or strength (as in “a steely blue”), I prefer to use the term in the sense of a human trait that is coldly determined and unyielding, and/or very hard (as in hardened, not in terms of difficult. It could, in other contexts, refer to, say, a characteristic of a strong and chiseled body as in, “His steely pectoral muscles were magnificent and well-toned.”) Further, it could be used in the sense of cruelty in one’s stare (as in, “he would stare hard at you with steely eyes”), but again, I use it in the sense of being resolute, firm, fixed, dogged, single-minded, stony, and even fierce.
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