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”
Explanation
The word gaunt means extremely bony or thin, often from weariness, suffering, or hunger. A place that is described as gaunt may look deserted, harsh, or just very plain. A stark, desolate landscape may be described as gaunt: harsh, barren, seemingly lifeless. If a group of hikers get lost for weeks in such a wilderness, surviving with little food or warmth, they would likely start to look gaunt: haggard, perhaps a bit skeletal. When they spy a gaunt old fortress on a hilltop, they'd probably ignore the fact that it looks abandoned, gloomy, even forbidding, and knock on the door to seek help. Don't worry — the gaunt-faced woman inside the mansion turns out to be a lovely person, who offers warmth and refuge.
Vocabulary lists containing gaunt
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe
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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.
The pressure he felt at Merrill made him look even more gaunt.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025
Other prisoners have appeared gaunt and almost unrecognisable.
From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025
His gaunt cheekbones just weren’t as obvious before.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2025
Meet “Ozempic face,” the extremely tactful name for a set of cosmetic side effects that includes sagging skin, sunken eyes, thin lips, deeper wrinkles, and a more gaunt appearance.
From Slate • Aug. 21, 2025
The episode of paralysis leaves him gaunt, weaker than ever, drained of life.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
