as in gaunt
suffering extreme weight loss as a result of hunger or disease
the rescued hiker appeared haggard and worn after a week in the woods
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Recent Examples of haggard
The scene makes Perkins crack up — Death looks tired and haggard, his job is never done (especially this week), and while the father-son may have escaped this round, their paths will cross in some unknowable way in the future.
—
Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2025
There’s a slight Francis Bacon aspect to them, poetic but at the same time incontrovertibly real, depicting every distorted limb, every haggard face and emaciated body, every wound and scar.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2025
Nobody could have given this song so much haggard soul.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025
His cheeks were hollow, and a grizzled beard, which hadn’t seen a proper shave in weeks, made his face look older and all the more haggard.
—Lee Chang-Dong, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for haggard
Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 21 Feb. 2025
There’s a slight Francis Bacon aspect to them, poetic but at the same time incontrovertibly real, depicting every distorted limb, every haggard face and emaciated body, every wound and scar.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2025
Nobody could have given this song so much haggard soul.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 31 Jan. 2025
His cheeks were hollow, and a grizzled beard, which hadn’t seen a proper shave in weeks, made his face look older and all the more haggard.
—Lee Chang-Dong, The New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for haggard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haggard
Adjective
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Nitibhon, a Thai supermodel, plays her tycoon as comically drab, keeping her gaunt cheeks slack to emphasize her character’s hollowness.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Feb. 2026
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Regina was standing by the window now, looking even more gaunt under the artificial light of the bulb behind her and the faint glow of the sunrise in front, which barely managed to filter through the balcony awning.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
It is required for normal skeletal growth and bone homeostasis.—
Lauren Manaker,
SELF,
6 Feb. 2026
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This Upper Paleolithic burial even became famous, though puzzling to researchers, because the unusual skeletal remains were even disfigured.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Haggard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haggard. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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