favela

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

/ fəˈvɛl ə; Portuguese fɑˈvɛ lɑ /

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noun

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

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of favela

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

Words nearby favela

fauxbourdon, faux-naïf, faux pas, fava bean, fave, favela, favelado, favella, favellidium, faveolate, faveolus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use favela in a sentence

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.
How George Floyd’s Murder Sparked Change|Toyloy Brown III|May 26, 2021|Ozy
One of the dead was a police officer, the rest lived in the favela.
A Deadly Police Raid in Rio Show How Bolsonaro's Policies Are Wreaking Havoc in Brazil|David Miranda|May 8, 2021|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.
Rio de Janeiro is making a digital map of one of Brazil’s largest favelas|Fábio Duarte, Carlo Ratti, Washington Fajardo|April 28, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Que lindo this song is for those who love to have good vibes inside their favelas.
The Funk Is Forever When It Comes To Kalisway|Brande Victorian|April 23, 2021|Essence.com

Athayde’s attempts at building favela youth into a political force haven’t really taken off.
Where Is the Next MLK?|Sean Culligan|April 9, 2021|Ozy
I interviewed Lilian, a single mother living in a Rio de Janeiro favela.
What Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff Can Teach Hillary Clinton|Heather Arnet|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This time, there were no fatalities, although it was close call for a resident named Alan in the Morro da Formiga favela.
Rio's Unprecedented New Surveillance System|Julie Ruvolo|October 15, 2011|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.
Brazil's Soccer Star a Murderer?|Dom Phillips|July 5, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The high school kids who broke it were Brazilian Linux hackers who lived in a favela -- a kind of squatter's slum.
Little Brother|Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for favela

favela

/ (fɑːˈveɪlə) /

noun

(in Brazil) a shanty or shantytown

Word Origin for favela

C20: from Portuguese

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

favela

Origin of favela

Words nearby favela

Words related to favela

How to use favela in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for favela

Word Origin for favela