malnutrition

American  

[mal-noo-trish-uhn, -nyoo-] / ˌmæl nuˈtrɪʃ ən, -nyu- /

noun

1. lack of proper nutrition; inadequate or unbalanced nutrition.

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malnutrition British  

/ ˌmælnjuːˈtrɪʃən /

noun

1. lack of adequate nutrition resulting from insufficient food, unbalanced diet, or defective assimilation

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malnutrition Scientific  

/ măl′no̅o̅-trĭsh′ən /

1. Poor nutrition caused by an insufficient, oversufficient, or poorly balanced diet or by a medical condition, such as chronic diarrhea, resulting in inadequate digestion or utilization of foods.

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malnutrition Cultural  

1. Inadequate nutrition caused by the lack of a balanced diet or by disorders of the digestive system in which the nutrients from food cannot be absorbed properly.

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Etymology

Origin of malnutrition

First recorded in 1860–65; mal- + nutrition

Compare meaning

How does malnutrition compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• malnutrition vs. undernutrition

Explanation

Malnutrition is a condition resulting from an unbalanced diet or insufficient food. If you live for an entire year on Twinkies and diet soda, you will undoubtedly suffer from malnutrition. When you break apart the word malnutrition, it’s easy to remember what it means. You’re probably already familiar with nutrition, which refers to taking in or using food. Add on the prefix mal-, meaning “bad,” and you get a word that means “bad nutrition.” If you suffer from malnutrition, that means you aren’t getting the right balance of nutrients. This can be caused by not getting enough to eat, or it can be caused by not eating enough healthy foods.

Example Sentences

Until then, children in the area generally only saw doctors in dire emergencies; rickets, anemia and other consequences of malnutrition were rampant.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

A local elder says that child mortality, mainly due to malnutrition, has "really gone up" in the last two years.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

The link between childhood malnutrition and a greater risk of obesity later in life initially surprised the research team.

From Science Daily • Mar. 15, 2026

Displaced families now live in vast tent settlements, where they face malnutrition, hunger and the spread of disease.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 4, 2026

Disease and malnutrition, not to mention the biting winter that year, which Ridgeway himself remembered without fondness, claimed thousands.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Related Words

• hunger
• starvation