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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Refugee
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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.
As Alpha waits for the results of blood tests, she is startled by the sudden appearance of a gaunt, jittery stranger in their apartment.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
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
As prisoners exited a Red Cross bus in Ramallah, many draped in traditional Keffiyeh scarves, they looked pale and gaunt, with some struggling to walk.
From BBC • Oct. 13, 2025
If only he had not tried to cross the occupied roads, he would not be so gaunt and withdrawn now; his grief would not be burdened by failure.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
