crookbacked
Adjective: * Having a back that is hunched or bent forward; suffering from an abnormal curvature of the spine (kyphosis).
This is a descriptive adjective used to characterize a person's physical posture, specifically a pronounced rounding of the upper back. It is a dated and potentially offensive term when used to describe a person directly. In modern, sensitive contexts, terms like "hunched" or clinical terms like "having kyphosis" are preferred.
- The old, crookbacked man shuffled slowly down the lane.
- In the novel, the character was described as crookbacked and frail.
- The condition left him crookbacked and in constant pain.
- The term is often used in historical or literary contexts to create a vivid, sometimes pitiable or sinister, image of a character.
- It can be used metaphorically to describe something that is bent or not straight, though this is less common.
- The crookbacked tree grew at an odd angle from the cliff.
- Crookback (noun, dated/offensive): A person with a hunched back.
- Hunchbacked (adjective): A synonym with similar connotations and modern sensitivity considerations.
- Kyphotic (adjective): The formal medical term relating to or suffering from kyphosis.
- Stooped (adjective): Bent forward and downward, often due to age or habit; a less specific and often less offensive term.
- Humped
- Hunchbacked
- Humped-back
- Kyphotic
- Stooped
- Gibbous (primarily in medical/biological contexts)
- Straight-backed
- Upright
- Erect
The direct use of "crookbacked" to describe a person is now generally considered impolite and derogatory. It reduces an individual to a single physical characteristic. In respectful communication, it is advisable to use person-first language (e.g., "a person with kyphosis") or more neutral descriptive terms like "having a pronounced stoop" unless quoting a historical source or character description.
- characteristic of or suffering from kyphosis, an abnormality of the vertebral column