gaunt
1 Americannoun
adjective
-
bony and emaciated in appearance
-
(of places) bleak or desolate
Related Words
See thin.
Other Word Forms
- gauntly adverb
- gauntness noun
Etymology
Origin of gaunt
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, probably from Old French gaunet, jaunet “yellowish,” derivative of gaune, jaune “yellow,” from Latin galbinus “greenish-yellow”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Based in leafy south-west London, the Victorian-era facility - with its gaunt brick walls and a dark intimidating entrance - is one of the largest in the UK.
From BBC
In the dock, Filipov, 36, cut a gaunt but muscular figure, twitching slightly like a boxer before a fight as he attempted to defuse awkward questions about his tattoos.
From BBC
Other prisoners have appeared gaunt and almost unrecognisable.
From Barron's
Back in 2011, the writer-director was already tinkering with a version of the monster that resembled a blend of Iggy Pop and Boris Karloff with jagged sutures, gaunt wrinkles and a crushed nose.
From Los Angeles Times
The prisoners and detainees emerged with their heads shaved, looking gaunt and pale in the afternoon sun — a measure, many said, of the harsh treatment they received.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
