Sentence:  As Dot walked down the steps towards the couple who frowned at the house, at the cypress trees, the camellia bushes and clay roof tiles, it became clear Ruth was ageing in reverse.At the funeral she had been strung-out, <WSD>dry-handed</WSD>, efficient and too thin, and she now looked younger, the layer of dewy plumpness in the skin of her face at odds with the cage bones above her unlikely breasts. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Old and withered, with connotations of lacking sexual potency or appeal.