skeletal C1 Topic:The Human Body US /ˈskɛlətəl/ UK /ˈskɛlɪtəl/ See IPA manual Freq #30440 Meanings 1 adj relating to, forming, or attached to a skeleton Fear can increase the tonus of the skeletal muscles. 2 adj reduced to a bare framework or lacking detail The proposal offered only a skeletal outline of the argument. 3 adj extremely thin, gaunt, or emaciated After weeks without food, the animal looked skeletal. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · relating to, forming, or... osseousbony 2 adj · reduced to a bare framework... bare-bonesminimaloutline 3 adj · extremely thin, gaunt, or... gauntemaciatedcadaverous ↔ Opposites fleshydetailedcomplete Word family Derived forms skeletally Related forms skeletonbonemuscle Common collocations skeletal frame Adjective + noun Etymology From skeleton + -al. The figurative sense extends the body's supporting framework to any bare structural outline. Topics The Human Body External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # skeletal **Type:** Word **Level:** C1 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈskɛlətəl/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈskɛlɪtəl/ **Frequency rank:** 30440 ## Meanings 1. relating to, forming, or attached to a skeleton 2. reduced to a bare framework or lacking detail 3. extremely thin, gaunt, or emaciated ## Examples - Fear can increase the tonus of the skeletal muscles. - The proposal offered only a skeletal outline of the argument. - After weeks without food, the animal looked skeletal. ## Synonyms - bony - bare-bones - gaunt ## Antonyms - fleshy - detailed - complete ## Derived Forms - skeletally ## Related Forms - skeleton - bone - muscle ## Etymology From skeleton + -al. The figurative sense extends the body's supporting framework to any bare structural outline. ## Topics - The Human Body markdown