scrawny

[ skraw-nee ]

adjective

, scrawn·i·er, scrawn·i·est.

1. excessively thin; lean; scraggy:

   a long, scrawny neck.

   Synonyms: emaciated, gaunt

   Antonyms: plump, fleshy

scrawny

/ ˈskrɔːnɪ /

adjective

1. very thin and bony; scraggy
2. meagre or stunted

   scrawny vegetation

Derived Forms

• ˈscrawnily, adverb
• ˈscrawniness, noun

Other Words From

• scrawni·ly adverb
• scrawni·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of scrawny¹

1825–35, Americanism; variant of dial. scranny < Norwegian skran lean + -y ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of scrawny¹

C19: variant of dialect scranny; see scrannel

Example Sentences

More than two years later, video showed the scrawny teen calling out for his mother as five officers piled onto him.

From Los Angeles Times

An explanation for the condition came near the end of World War II, when René Spitz, an Austrian psychoanalyst, observed that infants in a Mexican orphanage tended to be listless, scrawny and slow to develop.

From New York Times

As brash as he was scrawny, Morris needed to launch shots with two hands from his hip to reach the basket, yet he promised people he’d be able to dunk and that Windward was going to win a state championship before he graduated.

From Los Angeles Times

When the scrawny guy draped over a folding chair across the stall saw me thumbing the package, he assured me that all his “girlfriends” wore them in an S, as if I needed an excuse to shop menswear and women only came in one size.

From Los Angeles Times

“So Tom became a Patriot,” Ross said, “moved up to New England and on the first day of training camp, that scrawny rookie famously walked into the owner Robert Kraft’s office and said, ‘I’m the best decision your organization has ever made.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bony
• lanky
• skinny