rawboned

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective rawboned contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of rawboned are gaunt, lanky, lank, lean, scrawny, skinny, and spare. While all these words mean "thin because of an absence of excess flesh," rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.

a rawboned farmer

When might gaunt be a better fit than rawboned?

While the synonyms gaunt and rawboned are close in meaning, gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.

a prisoner's gaunt face

When is it sensible to use lank instead of rawboned?

The words lank and rawboned are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, lank implies tallness as well as leanness.

the lank legs of the heron

When can lanky be used instead of rawboned?

In some situations, the words lanky and rawboned are roughly equivalent. However, lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.

a lanky youth, all arms and legs

When could lean be used to replace rawboned?

Although the words lean and rawboned have much in common, lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.

a lean racehorse

How do scrawny and skinny relate to one another, in the sense of rawboned?

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

a scrawny chicken
skinny street urchins

When is spare a more appropriate choice than rawboned?

While in some cases nearly identical to rawboned, spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.

the gymnast's spare figure

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rawboned Mitsouko softened Chypre’s rawboned extremes, imparting a creamy peach glow to the whole. Noy Thrupkaew, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2021 Kirschling, a rawboned young man from Wisconsin, had written a master’s thesis at Columbia about long-term productivity decline in New York City’s mass transit. William Finnegan, The New Yorker, 2 July 2018 Like so many in Lincoln Heights, this tiny, rawboned 89-year-old woman had lived through a time of gang violence, high crime and police oppression. Brittny Mejia, Joe Mozingo, www.latimes.com, 3 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rawboned
Adjective
  • After years of languishing in the second tier of luxury automakers, the company was revamping itself with a fresh, angular look revealed for the first time on the Evoq concept car at the 1999 Detroit Auto Show.
    Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 15 July 2025
  • Key features: 7x magnification, objective lens diameter of 50mm, angular field of view 6.8 degrees, eye-relief 13mm.
    Kat Bayly, Space.com, 10 July 2025
Adjective
  • Anya Taylor-Joy, imperiously slender and with devouring eyes, has a porcelain haughtiness that doesn’t quite work as Emma Woodhouse — at least not for me.
    Tom Gliatto, People.com, 19 July 2025
  • Those garments included curvaceous jackets with jodhpurs and slender gowns cut from both light-absorbing velvet and light reflecting satin. At Chanel, meanwhile, the dark hue was used for military suits in nubby tweeds.
    Ari Stark, Footwear News, 14 July 2025
Adjective
  • The two groups lost a similar percentage of lean muscle mass.1 Notably, in the semaglutide group, being older, female, and consuming less protein at the start of the study were all associated with the greatest losses in lean mass.
    Simon Spichak, Health, 18 July 2025
  • Prioritize whole, unprocessed foods, particularly fruits and veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains.
    Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 18 July 2025
Adjective
  • Many have been quick to draw a connective throughline between the revival of trends like skinny jeans and bandage dress with the increasing accessibility of Ozempic and other GLP-1 injectables.
    Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 24 July 2025
  • Nothing fires up Google’s algorithm quite like talk of the return of skinny jeans, but for fall/winter 2025 designers are conspiring to relaunch another dormant Noughties trend: slouchy boho boots that puddle around the ankles and fold over the calves.
    Emma Spedding, Vogue, 24 July 2025
Adjective
  • Lift your hips off the ground and place a block underneath your sacrum, the widest, boniest part of your pelvis.
    Cory Martin, Verywell Health, 16 Oct. 2024
  • Differences in Adult Bones That being said, some adults are bonier than others.
    Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023
Adjective
  • The market is thin in run-producing bats, and O'Hearn not only fills that need but is versatile enough to play the corner outfield spots as well.
    Hunter Mulholland, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
  • Light cushioning maximizes comfort and support in the arch of your foot, while keeping its thin profile.
    Lauren Breedlove, Travel + Leisure, 24 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rawboned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rawboned. Accessed 31 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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