skeletal

[ skel-i-tl ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or like a skeleton.

Other Words From

• skele·tal·ly adverb
• non·skele·tal adjective
• non·skele·tal·ly adverb
• pseudo·skele·tal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of skeletal¹

First recorded in 1850–55; skelet(on) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Months of searching and waiting culminated in a grim discovery in August 2010 when her skeletal remains were discovered in Malibu Canyon.

From Los Angeles Times

They were looking for the source of a leak in the roof, but tucked inside a cubbyhole were the "skeletal remains", Mr Glady said.

From BBC

Dr Cary added that Sara was “moving remarkably well” in the video, considering her other skeletal injuries.

From BBC

The experience taught Wainwright that many of his songs, which are often elaborately orchestrated, held up well in their most skeletal form.

From Los Angeles Times

I saw a story in Popular Mechanics, of all places, about the 17,000-year-old skeletal remains of a child that was discovered in 1998 in southern Italy buried in a cave in Monopoli, a town on the Adriatic Sea.

From Salon

Related Words

• bony
• emaciated