hollow-cheeked

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparable

   Having cheeks that curve inward because there is little flesh on the face, often from illness, hunger, or age.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a hollow-cheeked man; his face looked hollow-cheeked.

   Patterns

   • a hollow-cheeked face
   • look hollow-cheeked
   • grow hollow-cheeked

   After two weeks of fever he came home pale and hollow-cheeked.

   The photograph shows a hollow-cheeked young soldier staring past the camera.

   She had grown hollow-cheeked, and her coat hung loosely on her.

2. 2adjectivenot comparablefigurative

   Looking extremely tired, worn down, or unhealthy in the face, as if the person has not slept or eaten well.

   Grammar: Often used figuratively after a long struggle or hard work, not only for physical illness.

   Patterns

   • hollow-cheeked from something
   • hollow-cheeked and exhausted

   The team came back hollow-cheeked from a month of night shifts.

   He looked hollow-cheeked and jumpy after the court case.

Common combinations

pale and hollow-cheeked

The nurse described the patient as pale and hollow-cheeked.

a hollow-cheeked face

A hollow-cheeked face appeared at the window.

grow hollow-cheeked

During the famine many villagers grew hollow-cheeked.

leave someone hollow-cheeked

Months of worry had left her hollow-cheeked.

hollow-cheeked from hunger

The children were hollow-cheeked from hunger.

Synonyms and how they differ

gaunt

Gaunt describes a whole thin, bony body or face, while hollow-cheeked points specifically at the sunken cheeks.

sunken-cheeked

Very close in meaning, but it stresses the cheeks having sunk inward rather than the overall thinness.

emaciated

Much stronger and more medical; it means dangerously thin all over, not just in the cheeks.

haggard

Haggard suggests tiredness and anxiety in the face, and does not always mean the cheeks look hollow.

Opposites

Word family

hollow adjective

Having an empty space inside, or curving inward.

cheek noun

The soft side of the face below the eye.

cheekbone noun

The bone that forms the outline of the cheek.

Commonly confused: hollow-cheeked or hollowed?

Practice

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