🦴 Extreme thinness 🏚️ Being unused 🏜️ Barren emptiness

wasteness

9.9

A very thin, weak body caused by illness or lack of food

noun

Archaic

: delgadez extrema

The doctor was concerned about the child's wasteness and recommended a special diet.

Examples

After months of illness, his wasteness was obvious to everyone who visited.
Years of hardship had left her with a visible wasteness that worried her family.
Her wasteness was shocking!
The wasteness was evident.
After months of illness, his wasteness was obvious to everyone who visited.
The doctor was concerned about the child's wasteness and recommended a special diet.
Years of hardship had left her with a visible wasteness that worried her family.

Synonyms

wasting away

vswasteness

2 7.5

Parts of the body slowly become smaller because of disease or lack of use

is whole body extreme thinness rather than organ-specific shrinkage

emaciation

vswasteness

Specialized

1 8.6

Extreme thinness from not enough food or illness

is more extreme indicating severe thinness from illness or starvation

gauntness

vswasteness

1 8.4

A very thin appearance because of illness or not having enough food

is the same severe thinness with identical usage

scrawniness

vswasteness

1 8.2

Being very thin with little body fat

is extreme thinness usually linked to illness or lack of food

skinniness

vswasteness

1 4.9

Being very thin in a way that looks unhealthy

is the severe thinness tied to illness or food shortage rather than just appearance

leanness

vswasteness

1 4.4

A small amount of something that is not enough

is extreme thinness caused by illness or lack of food

cachexia

vswasteness

Specialized

9.9

A severe loss of weight, muscle, and strength during a long illness

is the general extreme thinness not limited to a specific medical syndrome

maceration

vswasteness

Archaic

9.6

A very thin, weak body after long illness or not eating

is the resulting extreme thinness rather than the becoming process

bonyness

vswasteness

8.8

A state of being very thin so that bones show clearly

is the general severe thinness not only focused on visible bones

boniness

vswasteness

7.9

Being very thin with bones clearly showing, often from illness or lack of food

is extreme thinness generally rather than an emphasis on exposed bones

spareness

vswasteness

7.4

A thin body with very little fat

is extreme thinness caused by illness or lack of food not neutral thinness

wasting

vswasteness

Specialized

7.9

Loss of body weight and muscle that makes a person weak

is the severe end state after that gradual tissue loss

Antonyms

healthiness

1 1.6

Being well in body and mind

plumpness

1 2.4

A soft, rounded fullness, like a kitten's body or a cheek

How Thin

emaciation

Specialized

1 8.6

wasteness

Archaic

9.9

gauntness

1 8.4

thinness

2 2.3

slenderness

1 3.9

Surface Forms

wasteness singular

wastenesses plural

Morphology

wasteness = waste (semi-transparent) = waste + ness

Built from 'waste' in the sense 'to waste away' (or 'wasted'); this specialized sense of emaciation is not the most familiar sense of 'waste' for many learners.

Etymology

Wasteness comes from waste ('to waste away' or 'become weak and thin') and the ending -ness ('the state of'). Think of someone who 'wastes away' and loses so much weight — that's why wasteness means extreme thinness.