1
as in pallid
lacking a healthy skin color
everyone always looks cadaverous in the winter
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in gaunt
suffering extreme weight loss as a result of hunger or disease
a cadaverous cancer patient living out his final days with dignity and courage
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of cadaverous
Plus, the kid isn’t dead either, as his flailing pale self that looks on the verge of the cadaverous pops out of the trunk Jack shoves him in.
—
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 1 Sep. 2024
Moreover, keeping the cadaverous Biden in the White House is a daily reminder to the American people of the feebleness and anemia of the Democratic Party, which taints Harris by association.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 23 July 2024
Concluding that the medical students and obstetricians were causing puerperal fever in their pregnant patients by infecting them with cadaverous particles on their hands, Semmelweis instituted some harsh protocols.
—Sabrina Sholts, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024
Looking at that picture, the back of Biden's neck looks cadaverous.
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 30 Oct. 2023
Then those cadaverous mistakes are doing them in and losing games.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 25 May 2023
Season 2 picks up 10 years after Sam Walker (Sprouse) discovered the unspeakable secrets of Drisking, Mo., when a ghost of the past arrives to drag him back for revenge — and back to the cadaverous forests that color his nightmares… and back to the gates of Borrasca.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 31 Mar. 2022
Or the way that Morticia, voiced by Charlize Theron in the most musical of aristocratic purrs, doesn’t just walk but glides around in her cadaverous skin-tight dress that drapes over the floor in trails that look like black silk octopus legs.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 1 Oct. 2021
Slim to the point of cadaverous, intense, hawk-faced, almost totally bald, and sporting a bristling red mustache, Douri's devotion to Saddam was absolute and enforced with the loyalty and rigor of the fanatic.
—Philip Terzian, Washington Examiner, 5 Nov. 2020
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 1 Sep. 2024
Moreover, keeping the cadaverous Biden in the White House is a daily reminder to the American people of the feebleness and anemia of the Democratic Party, which taints Harris by association.
—Armstrong Williams, Baltimore Sun, 23 July 2024
Concluding that the medical students and obstetricians were causing puerperal fever in their pregnant patients by infecting them with cadaverous particles on their hands, Semmelweis instituted some harsh protocols.
—Sabrina Sholts, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024
Looking at that picture, the back of Biden's neck looks cadaverous.
—Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 30 Oct. 2023
Then those cadaverous mistakes are doing them in and losing games.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 25 May 2023
Season 2 picks up 10 years after Sam Walker (Sprouse) discovered the unspeakable secrets of Drisking, Mo., when a ghost of the past arrives to drag him back for revenge — and back to the cadaverous forests that color his nightmares… and back to the gates of Borrasca.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 31 Mar. 2022
Or the way that Morticia, voiced by Charlize Theron in the most musical of aristocratic purrs, doesn’t just walk but glides around in her cadaverous skin-tight dress that drapes over the floor in trails that look like black silk octopus legs.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 1 Oct. 2021
Slim to the point of cadaverous, intense, hawk-faced, almost totally bald, and sporting a bristling red mustache, Douri's devotion to Saddam was absolute and enforced with the loyalty and rigor of the fanatic.
—Philip Terzian, Washington Examiner, 5 Nov. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cadaverous
Adjective
-
Yet senior test kitchen editor Jesse Szewczyk recently took one of those pallid lumps and coaxed utter brilliance from it.—
Chris Morocco,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Smith’s skin took on a new color, one more pallid with a blue, purple undertone.—
Kirsten Fiscus,
Nashville Tennessean,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
Then a gaunt old girl lit out over the ridge, and the others broke and followed.—
Fred C. Mercer,
Outdoor Life,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Larry Shapiro, Calgary, Alberta Hamas has no conscience Seeing the sickly, gaunt faces of the three Israeli hostages released by Hamas in Gaza on Feb. 8 presented a clear picture of the loathing and deep hostility their abductors felt for them.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The video opens with Carpenter, dressed to kill in a pale blue skirt suit and sun hat, waking up on the ground from a car crash with her seemingly dead boyfriend in the driver’s seat.—
Charisma Madarang,
Rolling Stone,
29 Aug. 2025
-
The pale, dry, elegant wines reflect the Mediterranean lifestyle of freshness, spontaneity and togetherness, while the native grapes and traditional farming practices give them their balance, delicacy and finesse.—
Lana Bortolot,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
When Claire first shows up, Sweeney’s haggard appearance is doubly shocking for anyone who’s seen how radiant the star looks in most roles.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
7 June 2025
-
Weinstein often looked haggard and out of it — unshaven, mouth ajar, eyes bleary.—
Phoebe Eaton,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
But the mood in Israel hardened dramatically when, on July 31, Hamas released a video of the skeletal 21-year-old Israeli hostage Rom Braslavski, weeping and in pain.—
Emily Rose,
USA Today,
12 Aug. 2025
-
At five feet, this skeletal cat has bright orange glowing eyes, guaranteed to give a fright to anyone passing your front yard.—
Sophia Beams,
Better Homes & Gardens,
30 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cadaverous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cadaverous. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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