emaciate

[ih-mey-shee-eyt]

verb (used with object)

emaciated, emaciating 

1. to make abnormally lean or thin by a gradual wasting away of flesh.

emaciate

/ ɪˈmeɪsɪˌeɪt /

verb

1. (usually tr) to become or cause to become abnormally thin

Other Word Forms

• emaciation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of emaciate¹

1640–50; < Latin ēmaciātus, wasted away, equivalent to ē- e- ¹ + maciātus, past participle of maciāre to produce leanness ( maci ( ēs ) leanness + -ātus -ate ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of emaciate¹

C17: from Latin ēmaciāre to make lean, from macer thin

Example Sentences

In August, two months before Evyatar's release, Hamas had posted a video showing him emaciated in a narrow concrete tunnel - a move that drew condemnation from Israel and many Western leaders.

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Relatives of 24-year-old Evyatar David, who was taken from the Nova music festival and was seen emaciated in a tunnel in a video published by Hamas in August, said they always "knew he would return".

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With earlier, often emaciated, shackled, beaten hostages, "they had things in their blood exams, in their enzymes, that we couldn't understand".

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Penelope Chandrie's emaciated and bruised body was found wrapped in a sheet at the family home in Hayes, west London, on 17 December 2023.

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“The owner was offered assistance to rehome the emaciated horses. He declined,” the county said in a news release.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• blow 
• consume 
• deplete 
• dissipate 
• divert 
• drain 
• exhaust 
• lavish 
• lose 
• misuse 
• squander 
• undermine