1. the quality or state of being gaunt; extreme thinness or leanness, especially of the face or body
2. a bleak, harsh, or desolate quality or appearance
Usage: figurative

Examples

• The gauntness of his face revealed the hardship he had endured.
• After months of illness, she was struck by the gauntness in his appearance.
• The gauntness of the winter landscape made the abandoned house look even more forlorn.
• His gauntness suggested he had not eaten well in weeks.
• The gauntness of the desert stretched endlessly before them.
• She noticed the gauntness returning to his cheeks as his health declined.