gaunt
extremely thin and bony; haggard and drawn, as from great hunger, weariness, or torture; emaciated.
bleak, desolate, or grim, as places or things: a gaunt, windswept landscape.
Origin of gaunt
1synonym study For gaunt
word story For gaunt
The etymology of gaunt is uncertain. It is a Middle English word (also spelled gant ) that may come from Old French gant, a possible variant of gaunet, jaunet “yellowish.” Other etymologists suggest a Scandinavian origin, such as Norwegian gand “a thin, pointed stick; a tall, thin man.”
John of Gaunt, a son of King Edward III and father of King Henry IV, was so named because he was born in the Flemish city of Ghent ( Gand in French, Gent in Flemish), corrupted to Gaunt in English.
Other words for gaunt
Opposites for gaunt
Other words from gaunt
- gauntly, adverb
- gauntness, noun
Words Nearby gaunt
Other definitions for Gaunt (2 of 2)
John of. John of Gaunt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use gaunt in a sentence
The socialite’s demeanor stood in stark contrast to earlier appearances in court, when she looked gaunt and disheveled and when her team accused jail guards of mistreating her.
Schoolgirl Outfits, Gifts to Teens, Sex Abuse ‘Every Day’: Feds Slam Ghislaine Maxwell on 1st Day of Trial | Kate Briquelet, Justin Rohrlich | November 29, 2021 | The Daily BeastYou start losing all this weight and looking gaunt and frail.
'So You Think You Can Dance' Winner Ricky Ubeda Is Adorable, and Tired | Kevin Fallon | September 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOne day I was stunned to see that a particular favorite was a gaunt chain-smoker.
The Great Paul Hemphill Celebrates the Long Gone Birmingham Barons | Paul Hemphill | March 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn order to play the gaunt Woodroof, McConaughey went from 182 pounds to 135, subsisting on what he calls “a controlled diet.”
Matthew McConaughey In ‘Dallas Buyers Club’: From Bongos to Oscar Contender | Marlow Stern | October 30, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTHashi came in first, wearing a white kufi and looking gaunt, reportedly from a hunger strike.
Brooklyn Is the New Guantánamo for Three Suspected Al-Shabab Members | Michael Daly | September 26, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the small living room where we last met, he seemed more gaunt than wiry, his ear bandaged after a biopsy.
A Friend’s Tribute to Ambassador Chris Stevens: The Diplomatic Indiana Jones | Roya Hakakian | September 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTCharred beams and blackened walls showed stark and gaunt in the glow of a smoldering mass of wreckage.
The Red Year | Louis TracyThe Seneschal stood with blanched face and gaping mouth, his fire all turned to ashes before the passion of this gaunt man.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniA gaunt, hard-featured domestic completed this interesting family, and she was uncommon too.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowThe little name sounded so incongruous; it did not suit the big gaunt woman who had almost a touch of the monstrous in her.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodHe was tall and gaunt, with an unnaturally white face and a mass of hair almost as white in color, though not from age.
Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
British Dictionary definitions for gaunt
/ (ɡɔːnt) /
bony and emaciated in appearance
(of places) bleak or desolate
Origin of gaunt
1Derived forms of gaunt
- gauntly, adverb
- gauntness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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