scrawny

adjective

scraw·​ny ˈskrȯ-nē 

scrawnier; scrawniest

: exceptionally thin and slight or meager in body or size

scrawny scrub cattle

scrawniness noun

Choose the Right Synonym for scrawny

lean, spare, lank, lanky, gaunt, rawboned, scrawny, skinny mean thin because of an absence of excess flesh.

lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.

a lean racehorse

spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.

the gymnast's spare figure

lank implies tallness as well as leanness.

the lank legs of the heron

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

Examples of scrawny in a Sentence

The only plants in their yard were a couple of scrawny bushes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Industrial breeding turned the scrawny, two-and-a-half-pound chickens of the 1920s into today’s six-pounders. —Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 22 Oct. 2024

Here, the body of a scrawny Jesus gushes blood, sending a rivulet of scarlet down his crucifix and onto the ground below. —Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 11 Oct. 2024

And Texas football players in the fourth and fifth grade were not necessarily respectful of a scrawny kid with a violin. —Ed Masley, The Arizona Republic, 18 Sep. 2024

The 17-inch wheels and radial rubber are nearly twice as wide as the classic Mustang’s scrawny 15-inch originals, with markedly better grip. —Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 13 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

scrawny

adjective

scraw·​ny ˈskrȯ-nē 

scrawnier; scrawniest

: poorly nourished : skinny

scrawniness noun