privation
Americannoun
-
lack of the usual comforts or necessaries of life.
His life of privation began to affect his health.
- Synonyms:
- distress, need, want, deprivation
-
an instance of this.
-
the act of depriving.
-
the state of being deprived.
noun
-
loss or lack of the necessities of life, such as food and shelter
-
hardship resulting from this
-
the state of being deprived
-
obsolete logic the absence from an object of what ordinarily or naturally belongs to such objects
Related Words
See hardship.
Etymology
Origin of privation
1350–1400; Middle English (from Middle French privacion ) from Latin prīvātiōn- (stem of prīvātiō ) “a taking away.” See private, -ion
Explanation
If you're lacking the basic necessities of life — food, water, political freedom, and so on — you're suffering from privation. Privation has become a rather old-fashioned word, and these days the word is often used with irony: present day privations are usually of the order of not having wireless Internet or video games. It's interesting to compare privation with the similar word deprivation, which is used more commonly now. Deprivation usually suggests that someone or something has actually caused the privation.
Vocabulary lists containing privation
ASVAB Word Knowledge
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This Week in Words: August 6 - 10, 2018
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100 SAT words Beginning with "P"
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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.
Privation and oppression forced more than eight million Venezuelans into exile, destabilizing the region.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 4, 2026
Privation and poverty have been known to many Nicaraguans like Noé for a long time.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2022
Privation has long brought out the best in home cooks.
From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2020
When the Devil is trounced in Paradise Regained, "Darkness now rose / As daylight sunk, and brought in louring Night / Her shadowy offspring, unsubstantial both, / Privation mere of light and absent day".
From The Guardian • Dec. 31, 2012
To these is added Non-Existence, Privation or Negation.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
