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Showing results for malnourished. Search instead for malnourish.
Synonyms

malnourished

American  
[mal-nur-isht, -nuhr-] / mælˈnɜr ɪʃt, -ˈnʌr- /

adjective

  1. poorly or improperly nourished; suffering from malnutrition.

    thin, malnourished victims of the famine.


malnourished British  
/ mælˈnʌrɪʃt /

adjective

  1. undernourished

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of malnourished

First recorded in 1925–30; mal- + nourish + -ed 2

Compare meaning

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

At Banissa's main hospital, an influx of severely malnourished children -- some arriving from neighbouring Ethiopia -- has overwhelmed the paediatric ward.

From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026

That’s when so much critical development takes place, and children who are malnourished can never make up the loss.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 24, 2025

It comes as the BBC has found that soaring numbers of people are arriving at hospital either malnourished or with nutrient deficiencies.

From BBC • Nov. 19, 2025

The boy was fifteen, skinny, almost malnourished, so that the hip bones and coccyx stood out sharply.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

In January 1943, exhausted and malnourished, Vavilov was moved to a prison hospital.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee