lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.
a lanky youth, all arms and legs
gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.
a prisoner's gaunt face
rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.
a rawboned farmer
scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.
a scrawny chicken
skinny street urchins
Example Sentences
He left the hospital looking tired and gaunt. a gaunt factory on the edge of town
Recent Examples on the WebPenny was so gaunt that hospital staff notified the state’s child protective services that she was malnourished, prompting an investigation. Madison Muller, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2022 The photo showed a gaunt, intense-looking young man. James Verini, New York Times, 19 May 2022 Matthew VanDyke, a gaunt, bearded forty-two-year-old from Baltimore, grabbed his rucksack from the carousel and strode purposefully toward the exit. Seth Harp, Harper’s Magazine , 22 June 2022 The schoolmaster was tall and thin with a hunched back and a deep scowl on his gaunt face. Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 June 2022 The gaunt killer, dressed in a gray suit, declined the judge’s final offer to address the court.New York Times, 14 June 2022 Her hands and feet were gaunt, her skin a pale gray.Washington Post, 13 June 2022 The president rambled, occasionally mixed up words, trailed off awkwardly once or twice, and looked gaunt. Rich Lowry, National Review, 10 June 2022 Nobody wanted to see a gaunt cancer patient out of breath, trying to tell jokes. Geoff Edgers, Washington Post, 29 May 2022 See More