Synonyms of scrawny
27 similar words · 5 opposite words
Another word for scrawny is wasted. Other synonyms of scrawny are puny, gaunt, stringy, macilent and emaciated. The opposite of scrawny is obese.
Synonyms and similar words for scrawny
adjectiveThin, malnourished, and weak.
- angular
- anorexic
- emaciatedThin or haggard, especially from hunger or disease.
- ganglingAwkwardly tall and thin, ungraceful.
- ganglyTall and thin, especially so as to cause physical awkwardness.
- gauntUnhealthily thin, as from hunger or illness: drawn, emaciated, haggard.
- haggard
- stringyWiry, lean, scrawny.
- macilentLean; thin; emaciated.
- lank
- lanky
- leptosomeNarrow-bodied (in proportional to height or length).
- pencil-necked
- punyOf inferior significance, size, or strength; ineffective, small, weak.
- rangy
- rawbonedOf a person: bony and thin; having prominent bones; gaunt.
- reedy
- scraggy USLean or thin, scrawny.
- skin and bonesA person or an animal that is emaciated or very thin, as from lack of nutrition.
- skinny
- starved
- thin as a rakeIncredibly thin; at an unhealthy-looking level of thinness.
- undernourishedProvided with insufficient nourishment to sustain proper health and growth.
- underweight
- wastedEmaciated and haggard.
- weedySmall and weak.
- carrion obsoleteVery thin; emaciated, skeletonlike.
Opposite of scrawny
adjectiveMore antonyms
- heavy
- large
- obeseExtremely overweight, especially: weighing more than 20% (for men) or 25% (for women) over their conventionally ideal...
- overweight
- strapping
Meaning of scrawny
- adjective Thin, malnourished, and weak.
scrawny in other languages
Questions about synonyms of scrawny
- What is another word for scrawny?
- Scrawny has 27 synonyms on Word.ws, such as wasted, puny, gaunt, stringy, macilent, emaciated, undernourished and gangly.
- What is the opposite of scrawny?
- The opposite of scrawny is obese. Other antonyms of scrawny are large.
- What does scrawny mean?
- Scrawny means thin, malnourished, and weak.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: scrawny (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of scrawny.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/scrawny. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.