scrawny

[skraw-nee]

adjective

scrawnier, scrawniest 

1. excessively thin; lean; scraggy.

   a long, scrawny neck.

   Synonyms: emaciated, gaunt
   Antonyms: plump, fleshy

scrawny

/ ˈskrɔːnɪ /

adjective

1. very thin and bony; scraggy

2. meagre or stunted

   scrawny vegetation

Other Word Forms

• scrawnily adverb
• scrawniness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of scrawny¹

1825–35, variant of dial. scranny < Norwegian skran lean + -y ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of scrawny¹

C19: variant of dialect scranny; see _scrannel

Example Sentences

“He came here as a scrawny kicker at 100 pounds,” Walsh said.

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West Sacramento has long been the region’s scrawny stepchild of a municipality.

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More than two years later, video showed the scrawny teen calling out for his mother as five officers piled onto him.

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An explanation for the condition came near the end of World War II, when René Spitz, an Austrian psychoanalyst, observed that infants in a Mexican orphanage tended to be listless, scrawny and slow to develop.

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Was it open wide enough for a scrawny seven-year-old to fit through?

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Related Words

• bony 
• lanky 
• skinny