malnourished
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of malnourished
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How does malnourished compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When someone's malnourished, they don't get enough to eat. Beyond simply being hungry, someone who's malnourished doesn't get the nutrients they need to be healthy. Poor countries and those experiencing drought or war are the most likely to have a high percentage of malnourished citizens. If crops can't grow, or food can't be distributed to people who need it, the result is a malnourished population. A malnourished person suffers from malnutrition. Both words use the mal- prefix, meaning "badly," and the Latin root nutrire, "to feed."
Vocabulary lists containing malnourished
Among the Hidden
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Between Shades of Gray
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The War That Saved My Life
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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.
Malnourished and anemic, and without direct access to a health clinic, he succumbs to a treatable illness.
From Salon • Jul. 20, 2025
Malnourished children are prone to infections and the camps have already seen an outbreak of malaria, Monthe said.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 29, 2023
Malnourished, she can’t get the boy to latch onto her breast.
From New York Times • May 5, 2023
Malnourished sea lions washed ashore, another study confirmed, and more than half a million seabirds starved to death — strewn across the coast from California to the Gulf of Alaska.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2020
Malnourished children ran around half-naked, with distended bellies and large heads full of sores.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
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.
