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
the lanky basketball star was great at slam-dunking
Recent Examples on the WebMy hibiscus plants have grown tall and a bit lanky. Tom Maccubbin, Orlando Sentinel, 27 Aug. 2022 Kelley Watt was there with Tony Mead, a lanky Florida man who had been an administrator of the now-defunct Sandy Hook Hoax Facebook group. Amanda J. Crawford, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Aug. 2022 The team’s ringleader was a lanky man named Pieter Cullis who had intended to become an experimental physicist, not a biochemist.New York Times, 15 Jan. 2022 With a lanky 6-foot frame, Eldridge was already the team’s top blocker last season and has been working on timing her attacks with setter Mason Kelly. Luca Evans, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2022 The lanky former Princeton basketball player instead takes a seat at the round conference table, ready to converse. Jori Epstein, USA TODAY, 22 July 2022 The fourth-rounder is a lanky 5-11, 175 with excellent quickness and aggressiveness. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 20 July 2022 Beneath a maple tree by a red brick elementary school in Brooklyn, a lanky, recognizable figure lingered on a recent morning, hoping to catch the attention of moms, dads, the grounds worker mowing the lawn.New York Times, 18 June 2022 Huntsman is lanky, with sharp blue eyes and a pair of fierce dachshunds.The New Yorker, 30 May 2022 See More