【Lean】 , 【spare】 , 【lank】 , 【lanky】 , 【gaunt】 , 【rawboned】 , 【angular】 , 【scrawny】 , 【skinny】 mean thin because of absence of superfluous flesh.
【Lean】 stresses the lack of fat and therefore of rounded contours.
【Spare】 often suggests abstemiousness or sinewy strength.
【Lank】 suggests tallness or length as well as leanness; often also it implies wasting.
【Lanky】 adds the suggestions of awkwardness and loose-jointedness.
【Gaunt】 stresses want of sufficient flesh to conceal the bones; it often connotes overwork or undernourishment.
【Rawboned】 often equals 【gaunt】 , but it is applied particularly to persons of large, ungainly frame and it seldom implies undernourishment.
【Angular】 implies not only absence of curves, but jerkiness or stiffness in movement.
【Scrawny】 and 【skinny】 imply extreme thinness but 【scrawny】 may additionally suggest slightness or a shrunken meager quality while 【skinny】 suggests a stringy fleshless condition such as is associated with a deficiency of vitality or strength.
