Meaning & use

skeletal

adjective·Academic

Relating to a skeleton, or extremely thin, or reduced to only the most basic essential parts.

See it in a sentence

The doctor ordered a skeletal scan to check for fractures after the fall.

The company presented only a skeletal outline of its plan, leaving most details undecided.

A note on using this word

Figuratively describes something reduced to bare essentials, as in a "skeletal staff" or "skeletal plot."

Words with a similar meaning

bonybasic

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

completefleshed-out

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “skeletal”, then compare your use with the examples above.

Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.