steely.

1. Showing cold firmness, resolve, or emotional hardness.

2. Resembling steel in color, hardness, or sound.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• steely gaze
• steely resolve

On the page

She met the accusation with a steely gaze.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Comparative more steely; superlative most steely when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.