UNDERWEIGHT


Meaning of UNDERWEIGHT in English

un ‧ der ‧ weight /ˌʌndəˈweɪt◂ $ -ər-/ BrE AmE adjective

[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ overweight ≠ ↑ underweight , ↑ weighted , ↑ weighty , ↑ weightless ; verb : ↑ weigh , ↑ outweigh , ↑ weight ; noun : ↑ weight , weights, ↑ weighting ]

weighing less than is expected or usual OPP overweight :

Women who smoke risk giving birth to underweight babies.

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THESAURUS

■ person

▪ thin having little fat on your body:

a tall, thin man

▪ slim thin in an attractive way:

her slim figure

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a slim woman in her fifties

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Magazines are always full of advice about how to stay slim.

▪ slender written thin in an attractive and graceful way – used especially about parts of the body, and used especially about women:

her long, slender legs

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She is slender, with very fair hair.

▪ lean thin and looking healthy and fit:

his lean body

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He was lean and looked like a runner.

▪ skinny very thin in a way that is not attractive:

a skinny teenager

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Your arms are so skinny!

▪ slight written thin and delicate:

a small, slight girl with big eyes

▪ scrawny /ˈskrɔːni $ ˈskrɒː-/ very thin, small, and weak-looking:

a scrawny kid in blue jeans

▪ underweight below the usual weight for someone of your height, and therefore too thin:

He had no appetite and remained underweight.

▪ gaunt /ɡɔːnt $ ɡɒːnt/ written very thin and pale, especially because of illness or continued worry:

He looked gaunt and had not shaved for days.

▪ emaciated /ɪˈmeɪʃieɪtəd, ɪˈmeɪʃieɪtɪd, -si-/ written extremely thin and weak, because you are ill or not getting enough to eat:

The tents were filled with emaciated refugees.

▪ skeletal written used about someone who is so thin that you can see the shape of their bones:

The soldiers were shocked by the skeletal figures of the camp’s prisoners.

▪ anorexic used about someone who is extremely thin because they have a mental illness that makes them stop eating:

Her daughter is anorexic.

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anorexic teenagers

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.