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
It is required for normal skeletal growth and bone homeostasis.
—
Lauren Manaker, SELF, 6 Feb. 2026
This Upper Paleolithic burial even became famous, though puzzling to researchers, because the unusual skeletal remains were even disfigured.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 31 Jan. 2026
Restaurants are struggling again, losing customers, down to skeletal staff.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
As if by magic, the car’s body panels disappear, revealing the skeletal aluminum spaceframe below.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for skeletal
Lauren Manaker, SELF, 6 Feb. 2026
This Upper Paleolithic burial even became famous, though puzzling to researchers, because the unusual skeletal remains were even disfigured.
—Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 31 Jan. 2026
Restaurants are struggling again, losing customers, down to skeletal staff.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
As if by magic, the car’s body panels disappear, revealing the skeletal aluminum spaceframe below.
—Tim Pitt, Robb Report, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for skeletal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for skeletal
Adjective
-
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
-
Regina was standing by the window now, looking even more gaunt under the artificial light of the bulb behind her and the faint glow of the sunrise in front, which barely managed to filter through the balcony awning.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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
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No one’s going to want to watch a haggard perimenopausal woman who’s badly lit.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Skeletal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/skeletal. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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