Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
cadaverous

cadaverous

1 9.1
Very pale and thin, looking like a dead body
  • adjective
  • /kəˈdævərəs/
translation icon : cadavérico
  • The portrait depicted a cadaverous figure, emphasizing the effects of starvation.
  • cadaverous man
  • cadaverous look
  • cadaverous face

I've seen parts of of that miniseries and he has, I mean, he's got that cadaverous kind of face, super long.

Examples

  • The cadaverous man appeared weak and frail after weeks of illness.

  • Despite the cadaverous thinness of her face, she looked beautiful, her waist-length black hair dancing around the edges of her hood.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • For a while, she had started to fill out a little, but now she was back to her cadaverous state.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • "Dead?" The woman looked down at the cadaverous visage below her.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • At the end of the long table, a cadaverous old woman sat propped up.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • His face was cadaverous, his voice hauntingly quiet in interviews.

    Blog text (14)

  • Heep, a thin young man with a cadaverous complexion and clammy hands.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • First her face appeared long and cadaverous, with a bandage like bathing cap coming down almost to her eyes and sharp teeth protruding from her mouth.

  • Up Powell, down Grand, back and forth through narrow alleys, the vampire hopped, a pale, cadaverous nightmare in moist, fog-clinging funereal robes.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • She was worried about her friend's cadaverous appearance due to his poor diet.

Synonyms

haggard
vscadaverous
12 7.0

Looking very tired and pale from worry, illness, or lack of food

stresses a corpselike thinness and pallor rather than just tiredness
gaunt
vscadaverous
9 7.3

Very thin and pale from illness, hunger, or hard times

is more strikingly corpselike, emphasizing corpse color and extreme thinness
emaciated
vscadaverous
8 7.8

Extremely thin from illness or lack of food with bones showing

adds a corpse resemblance and coldly pale look beyond mere thinness
deathly
vscadaverous
6 6.5

Very pale, still, or quiet like someone who is dead

focuses more narrowly on corpse color and extreme thinness from ill health
skeletal
vscadaverous
5 6.0

Very thin with bones showing under the skin

adds a corpselike pallor to that severe thinness rather than only bone loss
pallid
vscadaverous
3 7.5

Having a very pale face because of illness, shock, or deep worry

adds severe thinness and a corpse resemblance beyond simple paleness
corpselike
vscadaverous
1 9.1

Looks very pale and still like a dead person

is similar but highlights extreme paleness and thinness from illness or cold
wasted
vscadaverous
5.1

Very thin and weak because of illness or lack of use

is more about a corpse look and severe paleness alongside weakness
pinched
vscadaverous
6.0

A thin, drawn face that shows illness or hunger

extends that facial thinness to an overall corpseish pale and gaunt look

Antonyms

healthy
695 1.0

In good body and mind condition without sickness or injury

vibrant
81 4.1

Full of energy and activity that makes people feel excited

How Gaunt

emaciated
8 7.8
cadaverous
1 9.1
gaunt
9 7.3
haggard
11 6.8
wan
7.4
pale
291 1.0

Surface Forms

cadaverous positive

Morphology

cadaverous = cadaver (transparent) = cadaver + ous

Meaning is directly derived from 'cadaver' (corpse) with the adjectival suffix '-ous' indicating 'having the qualities of', so learners can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Cadaverous comes from the Latin word cadaver, which means 'dead body'. So someone who looks cadaverous appears like a dead body — very pale and thin.