rawboned
Lean and angular
Rawboned describes a lean, angular physique where the bone structure is prominent—visible through the skin rather than covered by flesh or fat.
The word typically applies to tall, gaunt people or rangy animals like hounds and horses: a rawboned farmer with weathered hands, the rawboned frame of a working dog.
It suggests toughness more than frailty.
Sharp-edged or rawboned
- drawnRendered in lines
- haggardExhausted in appearance
- pinchedStole or squeezed tightly
- cadaverousResembling the deceased
skeletal · emaciated · wasted · starved · undernourished · malnourished · spare · ascetic
Tall and ungainly thin
stringy · lank · gangly · spindly · attenuated · stretched · leggy · coltish
Able to endure difficulty
- weatheredEroded by exposure
- rough-hewnCoarsely cut, left unsmoothed
- craggyRough with rocky projections
- leatheryResembling animal hide
outdoorsy · frontier · hardbitten · grizzled · tough · resilient · pioneering · homesteader
angular
Sharp-edged or rawboned
cadaverous · skeletal · emaciated · wasted · starved · undernourished · malnourished · spare · ascetic · careworn
lanky
Tall and ungainly thin
spare · stringy · lank · gangly · spindly · attenuated · stretched · leggy · coltish · knobby-kneed
hardy
Able to endure difficulty
- weatheredEroded by exposure
- rough-hewnCoarsely cut, left unsmoothed
- craggyRough with rocky projections
leathery · outdoorsy · frontier · hardbitten · grizzled · tough · resilient · pioneering · homesteader · rancher