emaciated
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of emaciated
Explanation
Someone who is dangerously skinny and skeletal-looking can be described as emaciated. It's probably how you'd start to look after a few weeks in the wilderness with only berries and bugs for dinner. The adjective emaciated evolved from the Latin emaciatus, meaning to “make lean, waste away.” An emaciated person or animal isn't just thin. They're bony, gaunt, and most likely undernourished, often from illness. So if an emaciated stray cat shows up on your doorstep, give it a bowl of milk and maybe pay a visit to the vet.
Vocabulary lists containing emaciated
List 3
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A Long Walk to Water
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The Hunger Games
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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.
In October, a Tijuana man was indicted after officers found two emaciated and potentially sedated orange-fronted parakeets stuffed in his underwear.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2026
The remaining eight "appeared emaciated" and later succumbed to "poor health issues", the report states.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
"It helped the story to see an emaciated body. With Reuben, I just wanted to feel the character in the body and feel physically imposing opposite Jamie."
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
Foot-and-mouth causes fever and blisters near the hoof and in the mouth that prevent animals from feeding, as seen in the emaciated survivors.
From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026
On the side of the road, where the earth had been turned by tank treads, an emaciated cow wailed.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
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.
