as in gaunt
suffering extreme weight loss as a result of hunger or disease
the stray kitten's skeletal body was pitiful to look at
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Recent Examples of skeletal
In November 2006, skeletal remains washed ashore in Taholah, an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation in Grays Harbor County, Washington, the coroner's office said.
—
Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 16 Jan. 2026
The building’s roof collapsed, leaving a skeletal wooden frame looming over the street.
—Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 16 Jan. 2026
That November, skeletal remains were found on a beach in Taholah, an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation, the Grays Harbor County’s Coroner’s Office stated.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
The unidentified skeletal remains were found two months after Asher went missing on a beach in Taholah, a village on a Pacific coast Indian reservation, according to Othram.
—Saleen Martin, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for skeletal
Marlene Lenthang, NBC news, 16 Jan. 2026
The building’s roof collapsed, leaving a skeletal wooden frame looming over the street.
—Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 16 Jan. 2026
That November, skeletal remains were found on a beach in Taholah, an unincorporated village on the Quinault Indian Reservation, the Grays Harbor County’s Coroner’s Office stated.
—David Chiu, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
The unidentified skeletal remains were found two months after Asher went missing on a beach in Taholah, a village on a Pacific coast Indian reservation, according to Othram.
—Saleen Martin, USA Today, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for skeletal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skeletal
Adjective
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Regina was standing by the window now, looking even more gaunt under the artificial light of the bulb behind her and the faint glow of the sunrise in front, which barely managed to filter through the balcony awning.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
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Thanks in part to Ozempic, thin is back in, with once-plus-size celebrities sporting svelter physiques, and some already-slim stars now verging on gaunt.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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No one’s going to want to watch a haggard perimenopausal woman who’s badly lit.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Jan. 2026
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Now, the film is a downright classic, centering on three haggard witches (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy) who go on a hilarious misadventure while trying to remain young forever.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Skeletal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skeletal. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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