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

• cadaverous
• gaunt
• haggard
• skeletal
• wasted

Examples of emaciated in a Sentence

the emaciated bodies of the survivors of the concentration camps

Recent Examples on the Web

That seemed to be confirmed by the appearance of an emaciated infected wandering through a field in the trailer, who bore a striking resemblance to the former bike messanger. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 June 2025

On April 29, animal control received an additional complaint about another of Jaheim's dogs that looked emaciated, the affidavit read. —Viola Flowers, NBC news, 30 May 2025

The child attended public school, and the principal has said that the child looked emaciated. —Nicholas Tampio, Hartford Courant, 29 May 2025

Shearwaters are nocturnal, so every dawn, the scientists go to the beach to find chicks that were too weak and emaciated to make the flight. —Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 23 May 2025

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