Synonyms of skeletal

skeletal

adjective

ˈske-lə-tᵊl 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• gaunt
• haggard
• bony
• emaciated
• starving
• starved
• cadaverous
• hungry
• skinny
• scrawny
• lanky
• thin
• wasted
• sinewy
• lank
• undernourished
• underfed
• rawboned
• scraggy
• wizened
• spare
• withered
• famished
• shriveled

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• healthy
• burly
• beefy
• husky
• brawny
• fit
• hearty
• hale
• fleshy
• fat
• obese
• plump
• overweight
• stocky
• corpulent
• chubby
• rotund
• pudgy
• thickset
• portly
• tubby
• heavyset
• flabby
• soft
• roly-poly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of skeletal

Ho also testified that her left eye was missing and portions of her skull had been reduced to skeletal remains. — Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 25 July 2026

Inspired by the wild, wild West, this collection is full of skeletal cowboys and twisted desert motifs. — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 July 2026

Supports Skeletal Health Your body requires certain nutrients to maintain a strong and healthy skeletal system. — Jillian Kubala, Health, 23 July 2026

Thoroughbreds generally start racing around the age of two, and many end up in slaughterhouses three or four years later, before their skeletal systems have even fully developed. — Rebecca Egan McCarthy, New Yorker, 21 July 2026