as in gaunt
suffering extreme weight loss as a result of hunger or disease
the stray kitten's skeletal body was pitiful to look at
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Recent Examples of skeletal
The skeletal remains were found within the City of Smithville after investigators reopened Ryan Weeks’ missing persons case in August 2025 and developed new leads, according to a news release shared by the Smithville Police Department (SPD).
—
Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 27 May 2026
The falcon combines aerodynamic engineering, specialized respiratory adaptations, visual stabilization, skeletal resilience, and astonishing neuromuscular precision into a hunting system refined for life in three dimensions.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
Behind him is the spindly figure of a man astride a bicycle, standing before skeletal, half-visible trees.
—Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 23 May 2026
Dutch archaeologist Wim Dijkman was arrested and then released for taking some of the skeletal remains that are possibly of the fourth Musketeer, D’Artagnan.
—Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for skeletal
Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 27 May 2026
The falcon combines aerodynamic engineering, specialized respiratory adaptations, visual stabilization, skeletal resilience, and astonishing neuromuscular precision into a hunting system refined for life in three dimensions.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
Behind him is the spindly figure of a man astride a bicycle, standing before skeletal, half-visible trees.
—Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 23 May 2026
Dutch archaeologist Wim Dijkman was arrested and then released for taking some of the skeletal remains that are possibly of the fourth Musketeer, D’Artagnan.
—Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for skeletal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skeletal
Adjective
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Gilbert, now imprisoned at Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, appeared gaunt and withdrawn during the interview, at times mumbling short responses before abruptly cutting the conversation short.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
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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
Adjective
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Rocking back and forth nervously during a television appearance, a haggard-looking Diaz-Canel acknowledged the same talks, which his government had denied were taking place just days before.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
22 Mar. 2026
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Wrexham, meanwhile, was near the bottom, struggling in England’s lowest division under a haggard fan-ownership group keeping it on life support.—
Justin Birnbaum,
Sportico.com,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skeletal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skeletal. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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