Which to use
“stoney” and “stony” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,182
- “stoney” frequency rank
- #19,707
- “stony” frequency rank
- 57889
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | stoney | stony |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Obsolete form of stony. | As hard as stone. |
Letter map: stoney vs stony
Shared letters muted; letters that set stoney and stony apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. stoney runs 6 letters (CCVCVV) against stony's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Spelling & dictionary notes on stoney vs stony
stoney and stony are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57889, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
stoney is recorded at frequency rank #38,182, classified as anadj. stony is at rank #19,707, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈstəʊni/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 57889, this pair ranks #116,238 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of stoney vs stony
Shared letters: nosty. Private to "stoney": e. Private to "stony": -.
"stoney" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV · "stony" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "stoney" for "stony" ever safe?
Frequency check: "stoney" vs "stony" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "stoney" vs "stony" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "stoney" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "stony" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #116,238 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "stoney" and "stony" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "stoney vs stover". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #116,238 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.