emaciated

adjective

ema·​ci·​at·​ed i-ˈmā-shē-ˌā-təd  -ˈmā-sē- 

: very thin and feeble especially from lack of nutrition or illness

He was deadly pale and terribly emaciated, with the protruding, brilliant eyes of a man whose spirit was greater than his strength.

—Arthur Conan Doyle

My cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated with confinement.

—Mary Shelley

Synonyms of emaciated

• gaunt
• haggard
• skeletal

Examples of emaciated in a Sentence

the emaciated bodies of the survivors of the concentration camps

Recent Examples on the Web

Images of the fasting, emaciated Buddha. —Sam Kriss, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026

Callaway & Ethan’s story begins in 2021, when Callaway found Ethan abandoned at the Kentucky Humane Society in Louisville, emaciated and near death. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 23 Feb. 2026

In the fall, at a time when bears should be gearing up for winter hibernation with their offspring, the Arizona Department of Game and Fish dropped off five emaciated cubs in the span of a month. —Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 20 Feb. 2026

Wednesday marked a year since an emaciated man was found in Waterbury by firefighters responding to a house fire the man admitted setting to bring rescuers. —Kaitlin McCallum, Hartford Courant, 19 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1627, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for emaciated

• abbreviated
• accelerated
• accentuated
• accommodated
• acculturated
• accumulated
• acidulated
• adjudicated
• administrated
• adulterated
• affiliated
• agglomerated