boniness
Lack of flesh
Boniness is the quality of being bony—having prominent bones visible beneath the skin, suggesting thinness or angularity.
It describes physiques where skeletal structure shows through: the boniness of her wrists, the boniness of a starving dog.
The word often carries connotations of fragility, underfedness, or gauntness.
Lean from deprivation
- haggardExhausted in appearance
- emaciatedAbnormally wasted from hunger
- scrawnyUnattractively thin and bony
- skeletalOf or like bones
angular · lean · wasted · lanky · rawboned · spare · pinched · drawn
Extreme nutritional deprivation
- emaciationExtreme bodily thinness
- wastingUsing poorly, inefficiently
- undernourishmentInsufficient dietary intake
- famineSevere food shortage
hunger · anorexia · cachexia · atrophy · underweight · malnourished · famished · underfed
Internal supportive framework
- osteologyScientific study of bones
- marrowSoft bone interior
- vertebraeInterlocking bones of spine
- ribsThoracic bone set
pelvis · skull · clavicle · sternum · joints · cartilage · spine · phalanges
Firm or demanding
- knobblyHaving small lumps
- angularSharp-edged or rawboned
- pointyHaving a narrow end
- sharpFine-edged, or astute
protruding · prominent · lumpy · ridged · jutting · jagged · knobbed · protuberant
Ease of breaking
- delicacyRefined sensitivity or rarity
- weaknessDeficiency in force
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
- feeblenessLack of strength
infirmity · brittleness · debility · insubstantiality · wispiness · tenuousness
gaunt
Lean from deprivation
- haggardExhausted in appearance
- emaciatedAbnormally wasted from hunger
- scrawnyUnattractively thin and bony
skeletal · angular · lean · wasted · lanky · rawboned · spare · pinched · drawn · cadaverous
starvation
Extreme nutritional deprivation
- emaciationExtreme bodily thinness
- wastingUsing poorly, inefficiently
- undernourishmentInsufficient dietary intake
famine · hunger · anorexia · cachexia · atrophy · underweight · malnourished · famished · underfed · deprivation
skeleton
Internal supportive framework
ribs · pelvis · skull · clavicle · sternum · joints · cartilage · spine · phalanges · femur
hard
Firm or demanding
sharp · protruding · prominent · lumpy · ridged · jutting · jagged · knobbed · protuberant · uncomfortable
fragility
Ease of breaking
- delicacyRefined sensitivity or rarity
- weaknessDeficiency in force
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
feebleness · infirmity · brittleness · debility · insubstantiality · wispiness · tenuousness
boninessplumpness
Condition of being full-figured
fleshiness · fatness · roundness · chubbiness · corpulence
boninessobesity
Excess body fat condition
fatness · heaviness · avoirdupois · stoutness · portliness
bone, bony, boneless, boned, bonehead, ossify, boning, bonier, boniest