Synonyms of skeletal

skeletal

adjective

ˈske-lə-tᵊl 

as in gaunt

suffering extreme weight loss as a result of hunger or disease

the stray kitten's skeletal body was pitiful to look at

Synonyms & Similar Words

• gaunt
• haggard
• bony
• emaciated
• cadaverous
• starved
• starving
• hungry
• scrawny
• skinny
• lanky
• thin
• sinewy
• boney
• wasted
• lank
• rawboned
• undernourished
• underfed
• scraggy
• shrivelled
• wizened
• spare
• withered
• shriveled
• famished

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• healthy
• burly
• beefy
• husky
• brawny
• fit
• hearty
• hale
• fleshy
• fat
• obese
• plump
• overweight
• stocky
• corpulent
• chubby
• rotund
• pudgy
• thickset
• portly
• tubby
• heavyset
• flabby
• soft
• roly-poly

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of skeletal

The Kane County coroner’s office announced Thursday night that the skeletal remains found inside a car removed this week from the Fox River belong to Karen Schepers, the 23-year-old Elgin woman missing since April 1983. —Courier-News, Chicago Tribune, 28 Mar. 2025

But in March 1995, skeletal remains were found in a riverbed in Santa Cruz County in Northern California. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 26 Mar. 2025

Our portable X-ray machine reveals their skeletal structure, and high-resolution scans capture the intricate details of their feet. —James T. Stroud, The Conversation, 25 Mar. 2025

What’s more, their skeletal structure was significantly better suited for sudden bursts of speed and grappling larger prey. —Scott Travers, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025