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Gaunt vs Taunt - What's the difference?

gaunt | taunt |

As adjectives the difference between gaunt and taunt

is that gaunt is lean, angular and bony while taunt is (nautical) very high or tall.

As a verb taunt is

to make fun of (someone); to (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner.

As a noun taunt is

a scornful or mocking remark; a jeer or mockery.

gaunt

English

Alternative forms

* (l) * (l) (Scotland)

Adjective

(er)
  • lean, angular and bony
  • * {{quote-book
  • , year=1894 , author=Joseph Jacobs , title=The Fables of Aesop , chapter=1 citation , passage=A gaunt Wolf was almost dead with hunger when he happened to meet a House-dog who was passing by.}}
  • haggard, drawn and emaciated
  • * {{quote-book
  • , year=1917 , author=Arthur Conan Doyle , title=His Last Bow , chapter=5 citation , passage=In the dim light of a foggy November day the sick room was a gloomy spot, but it was that gaunt , wasted face staring at me from the bed which sent a chill to my heart.}}
  • bleak, barren and desolate
  • * {{quote-book
  • , year=1908 , author=William Hope Hodgson , title=The House on the Borderland , chapter=14 citation , passage=Behind me, rose up, to an extraordinary height, gaunt , black cliffs. }}

    Synonyms

    * scraggy, scrawny, skinny

    taunt

    English

    Etymology 1

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • to make fun of (someone); to (a person) into responding, often in an aggressive manner.
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • A scornful or mocking remark; a jeer or mockery
  • Etymology 2

    Compare (etyl) . See ataunt.

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (nautical) Very high or tall.
  • a ship with taunt masts
    (Totten)