Synonyms of emaciated

emaciated 1 of 2

adjective

i-ˈmā-shē-ˌā-təd 

as in gaunt

suffering extreme weight loss as a result of hunger or disease

the emaciated bodies of the survivors of the concentration camps

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

emaciated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of emaciate

as in faded

to lose bodily strength or vigor

without adequate medical supplies, doctors could only look on helplessly as cholera victims continued to emaciate

Synonyms & Similar Words

• faded
• weakened
• sagged
• went
• decayed
• withered
• sank
• deteriorated
• failed
• drooped
• lagged
• wilted
• languished
• wasted (away)
• flagged
• rotted
• degenerated
• yielded
• broke down
• wore out
• ran down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• recovered
• rallied
• recuperated
• rebounded
• convalesced
• gained

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of emaciated

Adjective

Police found Nola’s emaciated body wrapped in plastic inside a suitcase. — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 9 June 2026

Dead, emaciated gray whales have been washing up on Washington state shores at a shocking pace over the last few months. — Evan Bush, NBC news, 25 May 2026

Out of 10 sloths that arrived from Peru in February 2025, two were dead on arrival, and the remainder were emaciated and in very poor health, the report stated. — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 6 May 2026

An emaciated manatee calf was rescued on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Florida Keys on Tuesday and sent to SeaWorld Orlando for rehabilitation. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 6 May 2026