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 angular pickup has been recalled eight times for a variety of hardware and software issues since Tesla began shipping it in November 2023.
    Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 2 July 2025
  • Price upon publish date of this article: $255 What’s white, angular, and sleek all over?
    Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • As Artaserse, Kim’s performance took some time to ripen on Friday, his voice sometimes vanishingly slender and lagging behind the orchestra in his first aria to Semira.
    Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2025
  • Here again, binoculars will prove most beneficial in helping to find not only Pollux and Castor, but this exceedingly slender lunar sliver.
    Joe Rao, Space.com, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • In theory, this model promises leaner, more responsive governance.
    Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
  • The leaner workforce could impact UPS's operational capacity and affect the businesses and everyday customers who rely on its services.
    Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 July 2025
Adjective
  • Right where the mural would be painted are two skinny wall panels between a set of balconies with a metal wall jutting out on the right.
    Meredith G. White, AZCentral.com, 12 July 2025
  • In 2025, the bandage dress is experiencing a resurgence alongside the rise of a new skinny culture, fueled by the popularity of Ozempic and similar GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, as well as social media trends such as SkinnyTok — a diet culture that is widespread on TikTok.
    Renan Botelho, Footwear News, 11 July 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 Series 10 is also thinner, lighter, easier to wear, and charges faster than previous models.
    Adrienne So, Wired News, 12 July 2025
  • 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, 12 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rawboned.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rawboned. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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