sunken-eyed

7.2

Eyes that look deep and hollow because someone is sick or very tired

adjective
/ˈsʌŋkən aɪd/

: de ojos hundidos

The sunken-eyed veteran spoke softly about his experiences, his deep-set eyes revealing a lifetime of hardship.

Examples

Oh, Byron, you do it for me with your hollow cheeks and your sunken eyes and your emaciated body.
The tired waiter, with his sunken-eyed gaze, struggled to keep up with the busy dinner service.
After weeks of sleepless nights, she looked in the mirror and noticed her sunken-eyed reflection staring back at her.

Synonyms

deep-set

vssunken-eyed

4 4.5

Eyes or parts of the face that are set far back and look sunken

describes the same recessed look but emphasizes causes like illness or age

hollow-eyed

vssunken-eyed

1 7.7

Deep sunken eyes that make a person look very tired or ill

is a broader description for eyes set back due to illness, fatigue, or age

deep-eyed

vssunken-eyed

7.5

Eyes that are set deep in the face and look sunken

is used more for appearance caused by illness, fatigue, or age

Antonyms

bright

171 1.0

Full of happiness and cheer

alert

82 2.8

Quick to notice and respond to what is happening

How Sunken

gaunt

9 7.3

sunken-eyed

7.2

bleary-eyed

5 5.3

Surface Forms

sunken-eyed positive

Morphology

sunken-eyed = sunken (transparent) = sunken + eyed

The meaning 'having deeply set eyes' follows directly from the adjective 'sunken' plus the productive adjectival combining element '-eyed' (compare 'blue-eyed').

Etymology

Sunken-eyed comes from the simple image of eyes that have 'sunk' into the face; it joins sunken (from sink, meaning 'to go down') and eye, so you can picture eyes pushed down into hollow cheeks. That's why someone who is sunken-eyed looks tired, ill, or older.