scrawny

adjective

scraw·​ny ˈskrȯ-nē 

scrawnier; scrawniest

: exceptionally thin and slight or meager in body or size

scrawny scrub cattle

scrawniness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for scrawny

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 scrawny in a Sentence

The only plants in their yard were a couple of scrawny bushes.

Recent Examples on the Web

In a Broadway season notable for the strength of its musical revivals, there has been some concern that the best new musical Tony Award category might be particularly scrawny this year. —Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 1 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

The photos of Allen restrained on the floor of the Hilton show an unusually scrawny man, his shoulder blades visible through the skin. —Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2026

All along the road, trees raised their scrawny hands, white-knuckled against the brittle sky. —Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for scrawny

• bonnie
• bonny
• brawny
• connie
• johnnie
• johnny
• mani
• rani
• tawny
• afghani
• fulani
• romani

Kids Definition

scrawny

adjective

scraw·​ny ˈskrȯ-nē 

scrawnier; scrawniest

: poorly nourished : skinny

scrawniness noun