favela

[ fuh-vel-uh; Portuguese fah-ve-lah ]

noun

1. a shantytown in or near a city, especially in Brazil; slum area.

favela

/ fɑːˈveɪlə /

noun

1. (in Brazil) a shanty or shantytown

Word History and Origins

Origin of favela¹

1945–50; < Brazilian Portuguese: alleged to be a name given to a hill in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, where such towns were built circa 1900; literally, a shrub of the family Euphorbiaceae, derivative of Portuguese fava bean < Latin faba

Word History and Origins

Origin of favela¹

C20: from Portuguese

Example Sentences

That movement led to the country’s Supreme Court banning police raids on the country’s favelas during the pandemic unless necessary — though President Jair Bolsonaro’s government has disregarded the ruling.

From Ozy

One of the dead was a police officer, the rest lived in the favela.

From Time

In the 20th century, the Brazilian government attempted to eradicate favelas and replace them with more formal public housing, but the bulldozers could not keep up with the massive urban migration that made these settlements swell.

From MIT Technology Review

Que lindo this song is for those who love to have good vibes inside their favelas.

From Essence.com

Athayde’s attempts at building favela youth into a political force haven’t really taken off.

From Ozy

I interviewed Lilian, a single mother living in a Rio de Janeiro favela.

From The Daily Beast

This time, there were no fatalities, although it was close call for a resident named Alan in the Morro da Formiga favela.

From The Daily Beast

He grew up in one of the poorest areas of Belo Horizonte, the crime-ridden favela of Santa Matilde, located next to two prisons.

From The Daily Beast

The high school kids who broke it were Brazilian Linux hackers who lived in a favela -- a kind of squatter's slum.

From Project Gutenberg