as in skinny
very thin in a way that is not attractive or healthy
He changed from a scrawny kid to a brawny teen in just over a year. The only plants in their yard were a couple of scrawny bushes.
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Recent Examples of scrawny
This encounter would play better if Clayton were more of a scrawny, Matty Healy type and not someone who is both younger and bigger than Joe.
—
Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2025
And there’s almost no one in town who wouldn’t take that offering, except this scrawny dude.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025
As the Ratliff's scrawny, shy Lochlan, Nivola navigates some stormy waters, especially his character's disquieting relationships with siblings Saxon and Piper.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 31 Mar. 2025
The stray was scrawny, short-haired, and had a scratched and scarred nose.
—Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrawny
Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 24 Apr. 2025
And there’s almost no one in town who wouldn’t take that offering, except this scrawny dude.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025
As the Ratliff's scrawny, shy Lochlan, Nivola navigates some stormy waters, especially his character's disquieting relationships with siblings Saxon and Piper.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 31 Mar. 2025
The stray was scrawny, short-haired, and had a scratched and scarred nose.
—Barbara A. Perry, Newsweek, 27 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for scrawny
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrawny
Adjective
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Many have been quick to draw a connective throughline between the revival of trends like skinny jeans and bandage dress with the increasing accessibility of Ozempic and other GLP-1 injectables.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
24 July 2025
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Nothing fires up Google’s algorithm quite like talk of the return of skinny jeans, but for fall/winter 2025 designers are conspiring to relaunch another dormant Noughties trend: slouchy boho boots that puddle around the ankles and fold over the calves.—
Emma Spedding,
Vogue,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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Cover it with a thin layer of topsoil or compost to cover the seeds.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
24 July 2025
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The market is thin in run-producing bats, and O'Hearn not only fills that need but is versatile enough to play the corner outfield spots as well.—
Hunter Mulholland,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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Anya Taylor-Joy, imperiously slender and with devouring eyes, has a porcelain haughtiness that doesn’t quite work as Emma Woodhouse — at least not for me.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
19 July 2025
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Those garments included curvaceous jackets with jodhpurs and slender gowns cut from both light-absorbing velvet and light reflecting satin. At Chanel, meanwhile, the dark hue was used for military suits in nubby tweeds.—
Ari Stark,
Footwear News,
14 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scrawny.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrawny. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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