gaunt
Very thin and bony, often from being ill or hungry.
gaunt in a sentence
- After weeks lost at sea, the sailor looked gaunt, his cheeks hollow and his clothes hanging loose.
- The stray cat was so gaunt that every rib showed, until Gran fed it up over the winter.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to gaunt?
- Achubby
- Bround
- Cplump
- Dthin
Show the answer
D: thin. The other three mean the opposite of gaunt.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to gaunt?
- Abony
- Bplump
- Cthin
- Dskinny
Show the answer
B: plump. The other three mean nearly the same as gaunt.
Words that mean something similar
thin, bony, skinny
Words that mean the opposite
plump, chubby, round
More words about appearance & looks
- ghastly: Horrible, shocking or very unpleasant.
- gnarled: Twisted, knobbly and rough, like a very old tree.
- grimace: To twist your face because of pain or disgust.
- grotesque: Strange and ugly in a way that is frightening or silly.
- haggard: Looking very tired and worn out.
- identical: Exactly the same in every way.
- illegible: So messy that it cannot be read.
- immaculate: Perfectly clean and tidy.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test