SCRAWNY (scrawnier, scrawniest)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: scrawnier    , scrawniest   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does scrawny mean? 

• SCRAWNY (adjective)
  The adjective SCRAWNY has 2 senses:

1. being very thin

2. inferior in size or quality

  Familiarity information: SCRAWNY used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SCRAWNY (adjective)

Comparative: scrawnier   
Superlative: scrawniest   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Being very thin

Synonyms:

boney; bony; scraggly; scraggy; scrawny; skinny; underweight; weedy

Context example:

pale bony hands

Similar:

lean; thin (lacking excess flesh)

Derivation:

scrawniness (the bodily property of lacking flesh)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Inferior in size or quality

Synonyms:

scrawny; scrubby; stunted

Context example:

old stunted thorn trees

Similar:

inferior (of low or inferior quality)

Derivation:

scrawniness (the property of being stunted and inferior in size or quality)

 Context examples 

White Fang's teeth drove into the scrawny throat.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

A more scrawny, pitiful specimen of humanity one could hardly conceive.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

One day White Fang encountered a young wolf, gaunt and scrawny, loose- jointed with famine.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

We waited for her down the road and out of sight. It was a few days before the Fourth of July, and a grey, scrawny Italian child was setting torpedoes in a row along the railroad track.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)