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
While bone density is built within the first few decades of your life, your skeletal system still requires care and close consideration well into midlife and beyond.
—
Holly Carter, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
In April 2023, skeletal remains were found in a box in a ditch along Blue River Road, and investigators said the box appeared to look like what the two had been taking to the truck.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 20 Apr. 2026
After your cave tour, try your hand at gem mining or pursue the impressive exhibit of relics, fossils, and skeletal artifacts, including the remains of a prehistoric bear that dates back 32,300 years.
—Kristy Tolley, Travel + Leisure, 14 Apr. 2026
Fans familiar with 1985’s beat-tastic, falsetto-fluttery, Technicolor masterpiece Cupid & Psyche 85 may blanch at Songs to Remember’s wispy skeletal attempts at dub and acoustic pop (especially since the album has, until now, been out of print and unavailable on streaming).
—Alfred Soto, Pitchfork, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for skeletal
Holly Carter, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
In April 2023, skeletal remains were found in a box in a ditch along Blue River Road, and investigators said the box appeared to look like what the two had been taking to the truck.
—Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 20 Apr. 2026
After your cave tour, try your hand at gem mining or pursue the impressive exhibit of relics, fossils, and skeletal artifacts, including the remains of a prehistoric bear that dates back 32,300 years.
—Kristy Tolley, Travel + Leisure, 14 Apr. 2026
Fans familiar with 1985’s beat-tastic, falsetto-fluttery, Technicolor masterpiece Cupid & Psyche 85 may blanch at Songs to Remember’s wispy skeletal attempts at dub and acoustic pop (especially since the album has, until now, been out of print and unavailable on streaming).
—Alfred Soto, Pitchfork, 11 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for skeletal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skeletal
Adjective
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When supermodels ruled the runway, low-rise pants hugged our hips, everyone smoked cigarettes, grunge was a music genre and an aesthetic, and looking scrawny and gaunt was considered attractive.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
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In late-stage chronic wasting disease, deer often appear emaciated and gaunt, Labonte said.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Rocking back and forth nervously during a television appearance, a haggard-looking Diaz-Canel acknowledged the same talks, which his government had denied were taking place just days before.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
22 Mar. 2026
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Wrexham, meanwhile, was near the bottom, struggling in England’s lowest division under a haggard fan-ownership group keeping it on life support.—
Justin Birnbaum,
Sportico.com,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skeletal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skeletal. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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