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 exact mechanism behind these skeletal changes isn’t fully understood.
—
Jennifer Byrne, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2026
Seeing a skeletal creature materialize in the darkness is ominous; returning to the site to find that it’s disappeared is even worse.
—Alex Barasch, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
Humane World for Animals Several dead cats and skeletal remains were also found during the search, officials said.
—Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
Reintroducing cheetahs in Saudi Arabia Alongside the seven cheetah mummies, the researchers came across skeletal remains of 54 additional cats within the caves.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for skeletal
Jennifer Byrne, Popular Science, 5 Mar. 2026
Seeing a skeletal creature materialize in the darkness is ominous; returning to the site to find that it’s disappeared is even worse.
—Alex Barasch, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
Humane World for Animals Several dead cats and skeletal remains were also found during the search, officials said.
—Jt Moodee Lockman, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
Reintroducing cheetahs in Saudi Arabia Alongside the seven cheetah mummies, the researchers came across skeletal remains of 54 additional cats within the caves.
—Taylor Nicioli, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for skeletal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skeletal
Adjective
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Lie’s Evans is gaunt and distant, a shy man hidden behind a veil of cigarette smoke, unable to process — or even express — his grief.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Mar. 2026
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Nitibhon, a Thai supermodel, plays her tycoon as comically drab, keeping her gaunt cheeks slack to emphasize her character’s hollowness.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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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
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As Derya and Aziz’s hypocrisies, as upper-class intellectuals, are increasingly brought to the fore, Namal and Biçer’s conversational performances grow haggard and strained.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skeletal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skeletal. Accessed 24 Mar. 2026.
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