gaunt

UK: /ˈgɔːnt/ US: /gɔnt/ ,(gônt)

Inflections of 'gaunt' (adj):

gaunter

adj comparative

gauntest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

gaunt /gɔnt/   adj., -er, -est. 

1. extremely thin and bony;
   haggard:
   He looked gaunt after his hospital stay.
2. bleak;
   desolate:
   a gaunt landscape.

gaunt•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

gaunt  (gônt), adj., -er, -est. 

1. extremely thin and bony;
   haggard and drawn, as from great hunger, weariness, or torture;
   emaciated.
2. bleak, desolate, or grim, as places or things:
   a gaunt, windswept landscape.

• Latin galbinus greenish-yellow
• Old French gaunet, jaunet yellowish, derivative of gaune, jaune yellow
• late Middle English, probably 1400–50

gaunt′ly, adv. 
gaunt′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. lean, spare, scrawny, lank, angular, rawboned. See thin. 

Antonyms

• 1. stout.

Gaunt  (gônt, gänt), n. 

1. Biographical John of. See John of Gaunt. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

gaunt / ɡɔːnt/ adjective

1. bony and emaciated in appearance
2. (of places) bleak or desolate

Etymology: 15th Century: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian dialect gand tall lean person

ˈgauntly adverb

ˈgauntness noun