Gaunt

¹

[gawnt, gahnt]

noun

1. John of. John of Gaunt.

gaunt

²

[gawnt]

adjective

gaunter, gauntest 

1. extremely thin and bony; haggard and drawn, as from great hunger, weariness, or torture; emaciated.

   Synonyms: rawboned, angular, lank, scrawny, spare, lean
   Antonyms: stout

2. bleak, desolate, or grim, as places or things.

   a gaunt, windswept landscape.

gaunt

/ ɡɔːnt /

adjective

1. bony and emaciated in appearance

2. (of places) bleak or desolate

Other Word Forms

• gauntly adverb
• gauntness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gaunt¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gaunt¹

C15: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian dialect gand tall lean person

Synonym Study

See thin.

Example Sentences

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.

Read more on 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.

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Other prisoners have appeared gaunt and almost unrecognisable.

Read more on 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.

Read more on 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.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• angular 
• emaciated 
• thin