Skeleton — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

something reduced to its minimal form

a scandal that is kept secret

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/skˈɛlᵻtən/

🇬🇧British English

/skˈɛlɪtən/

🇮🇳Indian English

/skˈɛlɪtən/

3 syllables Say it as /skˈɛlᵻtən/.

Examples

the battalion was a mere skeleton of its former self
the bare skeleton of a novel
there must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

underframe skeletal system skeleton in the cupboard frame skeleton in the closet skeletal frame systema skeletale

Parts of Speech

noun	something reduced to its minimal form “the battalion was a mere skeleton of its former self”
noun	a scandal that is kept secret “there must be a skeleton somewhere in that family's closet”
noun	the hard structure (bones and cartilages) that provides a frame for the body of an animal
noun	the internal supporting structure that gives an artifact its shape “the building has a steel skeleton”

Word Forms

skeletal

adjective

of or relating to or forming or attached to a skeleton

Around the World

Europe

🇫🇷French

squelette

quelque chose réduit à sa forme minimale

🇪🇸Spanish

esqueleto

algo reducido a su forma mínima

🇮🇹Italian

scheletro

qualcosa ridotto alla sua forma minima

🇳🇱Dutch

skelet

iets teruggebracht tot zijn minimale vorm

🇵🇹Portuguese

esqueleto

algo reduzido à sua forma mínima

🇷🇺Russian

скелет

нечто, сведенное к минимальной форме

India

🇮🇳Hindi

कंकाल

कोई चीज़ अपने न्यूनतम रूप में सिमट गई

🇧🇩Bengali

কঙ্কাল

কিছু তার ন্যূনতম ফর্ম হ্রাস

🇮🇳Tamil

எலும்புக்கூடு

ஏதோ அதன் குறைந்தபட்ச வடிவத்திற்கு குறைக்கப்பட்டது

🇮🇳Telugu

అస్థిపంజరం

ఏదో దాని కనిష్ట రూపానికి తగ్గించబడింది

🇮🇳Marathi

सांगाडा

काहीतरी त्याच्या किमान स्वरूपात कमी केले आहे

🇮🇳Gujarati

હાડપિંજર

કંઈક તેના ન્યૂનતમ સ્વરૂપમાં ઘટાડો થયો

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅಸ್ಥಿಪಂಜರ

ಅದರ ಕನಿಷ್ಠ ರೂಪಕ್ಕೆ ಏನೋ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಾಗಿದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അസ്ഥികൂടം

എന്തോ അതിൻ്റെ ഏറ്റവും കുറഞ്ഞ രൂപത്തിലേക്ക് ചുരുങ്ങി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਪਿੰਜਰ

ਕੁਝ ਇਸ ਦੇ ਨਿਊਨਤਮ ਰੂਪ ਵਿੱਚ ਘਟਾਇਆ ਗਿਆ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

کنکال

کوئی چیز اپنی کم سے کم شکل میں کم ہو گئی۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

骨骼

简化为最小形式的东西

🇯🇵Japanese

スケルトン

最小限の形に縮小された何か

🇰🇷Korean

해골

최소한의 형태로 축소된 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

bộ xương

một cái gì đó giảm xuống hình thức tối thiểu của nó

🇹🇭Thai

โครงกระดูก

บางสิ่งบางอย่างลดลงจนเหลือรูปแบบที่น้อยที่สุด

🇮🇩Indonesian

kerangka

sesuatu yang direduksi menjadi bentuk minimalnya

🇵🇭Filipino

kalansay

isang bagay na nabawasan sa kaunting anyo nito

🇲🇾Malay

rangka

sesuatu dikurangkan kepada bentuk minimumnya

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

هيكل عظمي

شيء تم تخفيضه إلى الحد الأدنى من الشكل

🇮🇷Persian

اسکلت

چیزی به شکل حداقلی خود کاهش یافته است

🇹🇷Turkish

iskelet

minimal biçimine indirgenmiş bir şey

🇮🇱Hebrew

שֶׁלֶד

משהו מופחת לצורתו המינימלית

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'skeleton'?

The primary meaning of 'skeleton' is 'something reduced to its minimal form'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'skeleton' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'skeleton' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'skeleton' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'skeleton' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'skeleton' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'skeleton' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'skeleton' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'skeleton' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'skeleton' in a professional email?

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Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'skeleton' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted