rawboned

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective rawboned contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of rawboned are gaunt, lanky, lank, lean, scrawny, skinny, and spare. While all these words mean "thin because of an absence of excess flesh," rawboned suggests a large ungainly build without implying undernourishment.

a rawboned farmer

When might gaunt be a better fit than rawboned?

While the synonyms gaunt and rawboned are close in meaning, gaunt implies marked thinness or emaciation as from overwork or suffering.

a prisoner's gaunt face

When is it sensible to use lank instead of rawboned?

The words lank and rawboned are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, lank implies tallness as well as leanness.

the lank legs of the heron

When can lanky be used instead of rawboned?

In some situations, the words lanky and rawboned are roughly equivalent. However, lanky suggests awkwardness and loose-jointedness as well as thinness.

a lanky youth, all arms and legs

When could lean be used to replace rawboned?

Although the words lean and rawboned have much in common, lean stresses lack of fat and of curving contours.

a lean racehorse

How do scrawny and skinny relate to one another, in the sense of rawboned?

Both scrawny and skinny imply an extreme leanness that suggests deficient strength and vitality.

a scrawny chicken
skinny street urchins

When is spare a more appropriate choice than rawboned?

While in some cases nearly identical to rawboned, spare suggests leanness from abstemious living or constant exercise.

the gymnast's spare figure

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rawboned Mitsouko softened Chypre’s rawboned extremes, imparting a creamy peach glow to the whole. Noy Thrupkaew, Washington Post, 21 Apr. 2021 Kirschling, a rawboned young man from Wisconsin, had written a master’s thesis at Columbia about long-term productivity decline in New York City’s mass transit. William Finnegan, The New Yorker, 2 July 2018 Like so many in Lincoln Heights, this tiny, rawboned 89-year-old woman had lived through a time of gang violence, high crime and police oppression. Brittny Mejia, Joe Mozingo, www.latimes.com, 3 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rawboned
Adjective
  • The shift among women from angular, contoured sphinx to a softer, cleaner (albeit highly buffed and polished) look has also been reflected in men.
    José Criales-Unzueta, Vogue, 8 Apr. 2025
  • For angular faces, subtle brow clutter can soften the features and balance the overall look.
    Dulce Moncada, Glamour, 7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • With their lanky legs and slender necks, sandhill cranes stand roughly three to four feet tall.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Since the crescent moon is both very slender after the new moon and visible for only a short period in the west above the sunset, it may be sighted on Sunday, March 30, but more likely on Monday, March 31.
    Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Musk’s image in Silicon Valley was useful to the Trump campaign, bringing in new fanboy voters and sending a message that the administration would transform the government and run it like a lean start-up.
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Keep in mind, too, that once your body begins to build lean muscle mass, which occurs mainly from strength training, your resting metabolic rate will increase.
    Melanie Radzicki McManus, CNN Money, 1 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The TikTok comments were replete with speculation that the friends may have even been skinny dipping—though Horton declined to confirm this.
    Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Apr. 2025
  • As an elder millennial, that meant skinny jeans — the hallmark of my generation.
    Kayla Kitts, Travel + Leisure, 7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Lift your hips off the ground and place a block underneath your sacrum, the widest, boniest part of your pelvis.
    Cory Martin, Verywell Health, 16 Oct. 2024
  • Differences in Adult Bones That being said, some adults are bonier than others.
    Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023
Adjective
  • The water pressure then causes the vehicle to rise and slide on a thin layer of water between the tires and the road, making the driver lose control.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 2025
  • Despite the fact that most people in the United States are plus-size, thin actors are still meant to to be stand-ins for the average American viewer.
    Virgie Tovar, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rawboned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rawboned. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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