emaciated

USAGE SUMMARY

The word 'emaciated' is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to describe a person or animal who appears very thin and weak due to starvation, illness, or some other form of deprivation. Example Sentence: After weeks on the run, the fugitive looked emaciated and exhausted.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Encyclopedias

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

The body, "emaciated and in very bad condition",was found near the village of Goldhanger on Thursday and marine specialists remain concerned there could be a mass stranding involving the highly social and inquisitive creatures.

The Guardian

Amnesty researchers also witnessed emaciated corpses in mortuaries, and one former Giwa detainee told the organisation that around 300 people in his cell died after being denied water for two days: "Sometimes we drank people's urine, but even the urine you at times could not get".

The Guardian

Concern is mounting over the welfare of Sierra Leone's top sprinter, Jimmy Thoronka, who is understood to be in a distressed state following his arrest on Friday night after he was found in an emaciated state living rough on the streets of London.

The Guardian

Now it is a dangerously emaciated shadow of its proper self.

The Guardian

Senussi, haggard and emaciated in blue prison garb, appeared with other defendants in a steel cage and complained that Libya had broken a promise to the Hague to find him a lawyer.

The Guardian

They look emaciated and deathly.

The Guardian

Balding with grey hair, emaciated in a long coat, the actor is there before you notice him.

The Economist

He was in his colonel's uniform and beret, with white gloves that made his hands seem enormous beside his emaciated body.

The Economist

In wartime, he did the same: dropping bombs and then food parcels over Germany and Italy, where emaciated children fought and drowned over Hershey bars flung into the Bay of Naples.Want and plentyIn 1961 President Kennedy put him in charge of Food for Peace, which gave poor countries credits to buy American grain.

The Economist

When hundreds of emaciated victims turned up at the hospital in St Marc, near the Artibonite valley, they were mobbed by doctors, aid workers and journalists.The Red Cross is ramping up a programme that trains hundreds of community health workers.

The Economist

Livestock prices have fallen in the past year, partly because northern pastures were damaged and animals were emaciated as a result.

The Economist

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When describing someone as "emaciated", consider the context. Use the word when you want to convey a sense of suffering or neglect.

Common error

Avoid using "emaciated" to describe simple thinness or slenderness. The term implies a severe and unhealthy loss of weight, not just a slight frame.

Linguistic Context

The adjective "emaciated" primarily functions as a descriptive modifier, specifying the condition of a noun (person, animal, or even an abstract entity) as being abnormally thin and weak, usually due to starvation or illness. Ludwig AI also confirms that the word 'emaciated' is correct and usable in written English.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

47%

Encyclopedias

13%

Formal & Business

12%

Less common in

Science

13%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The word "emaciated" is a powerful adjective used to describe a state of extreme thinness and weakness, usually resulting from starvation or illness. As Ludwig AI suggests, it is grammatically sound and correct to use in your written English. With a "Very common" frequency across diverse sources like news outlets (The Guardian, The Economist) and Encyclopedias, this term helps to convey suffering and physical deterioration beyond simple thinness. Using "emaciated" correctly involves understanding its strong connotations and avoiding its misuse in mild scenarios. Alternatives like "gaunt", "haggard", or "severely underweight" can be considered depending on the specific context and desired nuance.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

Thin and wasted

Focuses on the visible loss of substance and health.

Gaunt and skeletal

Highlights the prominence of bones due to extreme weight loss.

Severely underweight

A more clinical term indicating a significant deficiency in body weight.

Reduced to skin and bones

Emphasizes the minimal amount of flesh remaining on the body.

Haggard and drawn

Suggests a worn and exhausted appearance, often linked to malnutrition or sickness.

Scrawny and feeble

Indicates a lack of muscle and overall weakness.

Consumptive

Implies a wasting disease, like tuberculosis, is the cause of thinness.

Starved

Directly indicates a lack of food as the cause of extreme thinness.

Atrophied

Suggests a wasting away of tissues or organs.

Cadaverous

Implicates an extreme condition resembling a corpse.

FAQs

How can I appropriately use the word "emaciated" in a sentence?

Use "emaciated" to describe a state of extreme thinness or wasting away, usually due to starvation or illness. For example: "The "emaciated refugees" struggled to find food".

What are some words with similar meanings to "emaciated"?

Synonyms for "emaciated" include "gaunt", "haggard", "skeletal", and "wasted". Each word conveys a sense of extreme thinness, but they may have slightly different connotations.

Is it appropriate to use "emaciated" to describe someone who is simply slender?

No, "emaciated" is not an appropriate term for someone who is simply slender. It implies a severe and unhealthy degree of thinness due to starvation, disease, or another serious cause. Describing a slender person as emaciated would be inaccurate and insensitive.

What is the difference between "emaciated" and "underweight"?

"Underweight" is a general term indicating a weight below what is considered healthy, while "emaciated" suggests a severe and often life-threatening level of thinness, usually due to malnutrition or illness. "Emaciated" carries a stronger connotation of suffering and physical deterioration than "underweight".