scrawny

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective scrawny contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of scrawny are gaunt, lanky, lank, lean, rawboned, skinny, and spare. While all these words mean "thin because of an absence of excess flesh," scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.

a scrawny chicken
skinny street urchins

When could gaunt be used to replace scrawny?

The words gaunt and scrawny can be used in similar contexts, but gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.

a prisoner's gaunt face

When is lank a more appropriate choice than scrawny?

Although the words lank and scrawny have much in common, lank implies tallness as well as leanness.

the lank legs of the heron

In what contexts can lanky take the place of scrawny?

The synonyms lanky and scrawny are sometimes interchangeable, but lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.

a lanky youth, all arms and legs

When is it sensible to use lean instead of scrawny?

While the synonyms lean and scrawny are close in meaning, lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.

a lean racehorse

When might rawboned be a better fit than scrawny?

While in some cases nearly identical to scrawny, rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.

a rawboned farmer

When can spare be used instead of scrawny?

In some situations, the words spare and scrawny are roughly equivalent. However, 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 scrawny And there’s almost no one in town who wouldn’t take that offering, except this scrawny dude. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025 As the Ratliff's scrawny, shy Lochlan, Nivola navigates some stormy waters, especially his character's disquieting relationships with siblings Saxon and Piper. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 31 Mar. 2025 The stray was scrawny, short-haired, and had a scratched and scarred nose. Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2025 Proctor was a scrawny 12-year-old surfing Malibu’s Second Point in the mid-1980s when Miod paddled up and introduced himself. Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for scrawny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrawny
Adjective
  • Trying to shove your lower leg into something like skinny jeans or a condom could end up cutting off blood flow, which clearly would not be good for your calf.
    Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 19 June 2025
  • Each wave of skinny fixation has echoed like a cultural recoil — a shrinking aesthetic that emerges just as women expand their influence Advertisement But something is shifting.
    Anne Marie Chaker, Time, 18 June 2025
Adjective
  • Though no longer lofty, at close range these mountains are still impressive and assertive, rising in sheer cliffs hundreds of feet high above the beating surf, bare rock capped by a thin layer of soil and long grassy turf, spilling dozens of small cascades over and down narrow ravines into the sea.
    Robert Finch June 18, Literary Hub, 18 June 2025
  • Still, scientists have long struggled to account for where all of it is located since a large chunk of ordinary matter is spread so thin among galaxies and the vast spaces between them.
    Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 18 June 2025
Adjective
  • Consequently, the rollers became more and more narrow, until all that remained was a slender bar capped on both ends by large discs.
    Kai James, The Conversation, 11 June 2025
  • Taper: Taper candles are long, slender candles with a wider base and a narrow top.
    Maya Handelsman, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Scrawny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrawny. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

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