emaciated
Starved beyond lean
Emaciated describes extreme thinness from starvation, illness, or neglect—beyond merely thin or underweight, suggesting visible bone structure and wasting: The emaciated prisoners could barely stand.
The word applies to humans and animals alike.
Figuratively rare, but a landscape or budget might be called emaciated to suggest severe depletion.
Lean from deprivation
- skeletalOf or like bones
- cadaverousResembling the deceased
- haggardExhausted in appearance
- drawnRendered in lines
pinched · sunken · hollow · bony · scrawny · wizened · shriveled · sallow
Of or like bones
- bonyThin, with protruding skeleton
- scrawnyUnattractively thin and bony
- skinnyVery thin, underweight
- underweightBelow normal mass
lean · slender · lanky · spindly · twiggy · thin · wiry · gaunt
Suffering extreme hunger
- malnourishedLacking proper nutrition
- undernourishedInsufficiently nourished
- famishedIntensely, painfully hungry
- starvedSuffering extreme hunger
famine · malnutrition · cachexia · wasting · hunger · deprivation · fasting · ravenous
gaunt
Lean from deprivation
- skeletalOf or like bones
- cadaverousResembling the deceased
- haggardExhausted in appearance
drawn · pinched · sunken · hollow · bony · scrawny · wizened · shriveled · sallow · wan
skeletal
Of or like bones
underweight · lean · slender · lanky · spindly · twiggy · thin · wiry · gaunt · slight
starving
Suffering extreme hunger
- malnourishedLacking proper nutrition
- undernourishedInsufficiently nourished
- famishedIntensely, painfully hungry
starved · famine · malnutrition · cachexia · wasting · hunger · deprivation · fasting · ravenous · anorexic
frail
Weak and breakable
- feebleWeak and ineffective
- debilitatedMade weak or infirm
- enfeebledMade weak or feeble
weak · fragile · infirm · sickly · enervated · exhausted · languid · depleted · sapped · drained
wasting
Using poorly, inefficiently
- cachexiaSevere illness-induced wasting
- anorexiaEating disorder, self-starvation
- atrophyWasting from disuse
consumptive · ravaged · cancer · AIDS · tuberculosis · chronic · terminal · bedridden · hospice · sickly
emaciatedobese
Extremely overweight, unhealthily so
fat · corpulent · rotund · overweight · plump
emaciatedwell-fed
Adequately nourished
overnourished · hale · hearty · robust · hale and hearty