as in gaunt
suffering extreme weight loss as a result of hunger or disease
the rescued hiker appeared haggard and worn after a week in the woods
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Recent Examples of haggard
Nobody could have given this song so much haggard soul.
—
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025
His cheeks were hollow, and a grizzled beard, which hadn’t seen a proper shave in weeks, made his face look older and all the more haggard.
—Lee Chang-Dong, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
What’s lost is the heat and swashbuckling adventure of the original tale, a humanist turn that finds Odysseus at the end of his mortal coil, Fiennes at first haggard, awash naked on the shores of Ithaca after a shipwreck has left him unmoored and divorced from his former kingdom.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 6 Dec. 2024
Ralph Fiennes’ Odysseus, back from the Trojan War, washes up on the shores of Ithaca after 20 years away, haggard and unrecognizable.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 6 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for haggard
Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025
His cheeks were hollow, and a grizzled beard, which hadn’t seen a proper shave in weeks, made his face look older and all the more haggard.
—Lee Chang-Dong, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
What’s lost is the heat and swashbuckling adventure of the original tale, a humanist turn that finds Odysseus at the end of his mortal coil, Fiennes at first haggard, awash naked on the shores of Ithaca after a shipwreck has left him unmoored and divorced from his former kingdom.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 6 Dec. 2024
Ralph Fiennes’ Odysseus, back from the Trojan War, washes up on the shores of Ithaca after 20 years away, haggard and unrecognizable.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 6 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for haggard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haggard
Adjective
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Larry Shapiro, Calgary, Alberta Hamas has no conscience Seeing the sickly, gaunt faces of the three Israeli hostages released by Hamas in Gaza on Feb. 8 presented a clear picture of the loathing and deep hostility their abductors felt for them.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Feb. 2025
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The body of Jesus hangs like a lifeless, gaunt and emaciated husk.—
Mike Lowenberg,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Nearly a year after skeletal remains were found in a California field, police are looking to the public for answers.—
Daniella Segura,
Sacbee.com,
6 Aug. 2025
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One day, his son Dong-hwan (Park) receives a call from the police, informing them that Young-hee, their wife and mother, who disappeared 40 years ago, has been found as skeletal remains.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
6 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Haggard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haggard. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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