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gauntness

gauntness

1 8.4
A very thin appearance because of illness or not having enough food
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɔntnəs/
translation icon : demacración
  • She was of average height and slender to the point of gauntness.
  • point of gauntness

Examples

  • The bad mood only seemed like a poker face, an air of sadness, followed by aging gauntness.

    Blog text (18)
  • I responded with a gauntness, a hollowness they had not bargained for.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Now the lines in her face, the hollowed-out eyes, the gauntness, the looseness of skin beneath her neck, made her advanced age disconcertingly plausible.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The child's gauntness was a clear sign of his struggle with severe malnutrition.

  • After months of illness, her gauntness became apparent, as if her body was trying to draw attention to its frailty.

  • The gauntness of the abandoned dog suggested it had been without food for days.

Synonyms

thinness
vsgauntness
2 2.3

A person who has very little body fat

is specifically about extreme loss of flesh often due to illness or hunger
emaciation
vsgauntness
  • Specialized
1 8.6

Extreme thinness from not enough food or illness

is extreme lack of flesh often from illness or shortage of food
scrawniness
vsgauntness
1 8.2

Being very thin with little body fat

is more strongly tied to illness or food shortage as the cause
skinniness
vsgauntness
1 4.9

Being very thin in a way that looks unhealthy

suggests a more clinical or severe loss connected to sickness or hunger
leanness
vsgauntness
1 3.4

Having little body fat and being thin

is stronger, implying extreme flesh loss often from sickness or food shortage
wasteness
vsgauntness
  • Archaic
9.9

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

is similar but used more generally for severe loss of flesh
bonyness
vsgauntness
8.8

A state of being very thin so that bones show clearly

describes the same bodily appearance but as a general quality of thinness
boniness
vsgauntness
7.9

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

covers that visible bone appearance but emphasises extreme thinness from illness

Antonyms

1 1.6

Being well in body and mind

1 2.4

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

How Thin

emaciation
  • Specialized
1 8.6
gauntness
1 8.4
skinniness
1 4.9
thinness
2 2.3
slenderness
1 3.9

Surface Forms

gauntness singular
gauntnesses plural

Morphology

gauntness = gaunt (transparent) = gaunt + ness

Standard nominalization from the adjective 'gaunt' using the productive suffix '-ness'; the meaning is directly the quality of being gaunt.

Etymology

Gauntness comes from the old word gaunt, which once described a hollow, bony look and the idea of being 'thin'. So, imagine sunken cheeks and visible bones — that picture explains why gauntness means extreme thinness, often from illness or lack of food.