gaunt
/ɡɔnt/adjective
gaunt is spelled G-A-U-N-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, gaunt means “Angular, bony, and lean” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in gaunt?
| Letters | 5: G-A-U-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is gaunt?
Gaunt appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce gaunt?
- UK /ɡɔːnt/
- UK /ɡɑːnt/
- US /ɡɔnt/
Gaunt has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-gaunt.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with gaunt?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as gaunt from its last stressed vowel (/ɔnt/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: untag.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of gaunt
- gaunter comparative
- gauntest superlative
- gant
- gent
- ghent
- gont
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does gaunt mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Angular, bony, and lean.
- 2
Unhealthily thin, as from hunger or illness: drawn, emaciated, haggard.
- 3
Of a place or thing: bleak, desolate.
- 4
rareGreedy; also, hungry, ravenous.
- 5
obsoleteWith a positive or neutral connotation: not overweight; lean, slender, slim.
- 6
obsoleteOf a sound: suggesting bleakness and desolation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Gaunt in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | anguleux, maigre, osseux , émacié |
| German | dünn, hager, knochig, mager , abgemagert, ausgemergelt |
| Spanish | chupado, demacrado, macilento, enjuto, raquítico, flaquítico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does gaunt come from?
From Middle English gaunt, gawnt, gawnte, gant (“lean, slender, thin, gaunt”); further etymology uncertain.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).