gaunt

adjective

ˈgȯnt 

ˈgänt

1

: excessively thin and angular

a long gaunt face

2

: barren, desolate

gauntly adverb

gauntness noun

Synonyms of gaunt

• haggard
• skeletal

Choose the Right Synonym for gaunt

lean, spare, lank, lanky, gaunt, rawboned, scrawny, skinny mean thin because of an absence of excess flesh.

lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.

a lean racehorse

spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.

the gymnast's spare figure

lank implies tallness as well as leanness.

the lank legs of the heron

lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.

a lanky youth, all arms and legs

gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.

a prisoner's gaunt face

rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.

a rawboned farmer

scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.

a scrawny chicken

skinny street urchins

Examples of gaunt in a Sentence

He left the hospital looking tired and gaunt.

a gaunt factory on the edge of town

Recent Examples on the Web

Brig is in the Upper Valais, a gaunt and conservative place where the inhabitants speak Walliser German, an Alpine dialect that many Swiss people find unintelligible. —Sam Knight, New Yorker, 1 June 2026

Gilbert, now imprisoned at Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, appeared gaunt and withdrawn during the interview, at times mumbling short responses before abruptly cutting the conversation short. —Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 27 May 2026

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

In late-stage chronic wasting disease, deer often appear emaciated and gaunt, Labonte said. —Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for gaunt

• daunt
• flaunt
• font
• haunt
• jaunt
• pont
• taunt
• vaunt
• want
• avant
• croissant
• detente

Kids Definition

gaunt

adjective

ˈgȯnt 

ˈgänt

1

: being thin and bony (as from hunger or suffering)

2

: grim and forbidding : barren, desolate

gaunt, leafless trees

gauntly adverb

gauntness noun