If someone is underweight, they are too thin, and therefore not healthy.
Nearly a third of the children were severely underweight.
Synonyms: skinny, puny, emaciated, undernourished More Synonyms of underweight
underweight in British English
(ˌʌndəˈweɪt)
adjective
1.
weighing less than is average, expected, or healthy
2. finance
a.
having a lower proportion of one's investments in a particular sector of the market than the size of that sector relative to the total market would suggest
b.
(of a fund etc) disproportionately invested in this way
pension funds have become underweight of equities
underweight in American English
(ˈʌndərˌweɪt; also, for adj., ˌ ʌndərˈweɪt)
adjective
1.
below the normal, desirable, or allowed weight
noun
2.
weight that is less than needed, desired, or allowed
Examples of 'underweight' in a sentence
underweight
At first we were told he was healthy but underweight.
The Sun (2015)
Each episode will feature one overweight and one underweight youngster.
The Sun (2011)
Both underweight and overweight can cause sleeping problems.
Lamplugh, Diana & Sterwin, Diana & Nottidge, Pamela Survive the Nine to Five - a woman's guide to working well (1989)
Being overweight or very underweight both reduce fertility.
The Sun (2008)
Being overweight or underweight can harm your chances of conceiving.
The Sun (2009)
She wants to convince magazine editors and advertising executives to stop using so many underweight models and digitally enhanced photos.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Being very overweight or underweight, which affects the hormone balance.
Westcott, Patsy Alternative Health Care for Women (1991)
Anyone found using underweight models will incur a prison sentence of up to six months and a 55,000 fine.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The group is also holding an inquiry into the use of underage and underweight models in the British fashion industry.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
There would be checks that women were not underweight or overweight, both of which can cause problems withconceiving.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
A recent visit to a nurse showed that she is 5lb underweight but otherwise healthy.
The Sun (2010)
It is possible to be underweight or overweight in BMI terms and still have a healthy percentage of body fat.
The Sun (2015)
The editors of Vogue worldwide have agreed not to use underweight or under-age models knowingly in their magazines.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Watch your weight: if you and your partner are overweight or very underweight, you are less likely to conceive easily.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
At this point, it seems right to raise the topic of underweight models, a trend that she has been accused of nurturing.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The trend persisted for fund managers, underweight in banks by and large, to hunt for good news from lenders and studiously avoid the bad.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
(adjective)
Definition
weighing less than is average, expected, or healthy
Nearly a third of the children were severely underweight.
Synonyms
skinny
He was quite a skinny little boy.
puny
Our Kevin has always been a puny lad.
emaciated
We were shocked by the emaciated faces in the photo.
undernourished
People who are undernourished also lack reserves of energy.
skin and bone (informal)
undersized
undersized and underweight babies
half-starved
underfed
Additional synonyms
in the sense of emaciated
Definition
extremely thin through illness or lack of food
We were shocked by the emaciated faces in the photo.
Synonyms
skeletal,
thin,
weak,
lean,
pinched,
skinny,
wasted,
gaunt,
bony,
haggard,
atrophied,
scrawny,
attenuate,
attenuated,
undernourished,
scraggy,
half-starved,
cadaverous,
macilent (rare)
in the sense of puny
Definition
small and weakly
Our Kevin has always been a puny lad.
Synonyms
feeble,
weak,
frail,
little,
tiny,
weakly,
stunted,
diminutive,
sickly,
undeveloped,
pint-sized (informal),
undersized,
underfed,
dwarfish,
pygmy or pigmy
in the sense of undernourished
Definition
lacking the food needed for health and growth
People who are undernourished also lack reserves of energy.