malnutrition

[mal-noo-trish-uh n, -nyoo-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR malnutrition ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

lack of proper nutrition; inadequate or unbalanced nutrition.

Origin of malnutrition

First recorded in 1860–65; mal- + nutrition

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for malnutrition

starvation, hunger, malnourishment, bulimia

Examples from the Web for malnutrition

Contemporary Examples of malnutrition

“One-third of South Asians and more than half of all Sub-Saharan Africans suffer from malnutrition or undernutrition,” he writes.
The History of the Chicken: How This Humble Bird Saved Humanity
William O’Connor
December 27, 2014
Figueroa told The Daily Beast that her husband indeed was stabbed and he is also anemic from malnutrition.
Did Joran Van Der Sloot Fake His Prison Shanking?
Andrea Zarate, Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 5, 2014
While food is distributed to families, children living on the UN base in Bentiu continue to struggle with malnutrition.
‘There was no food, no more water lilies’
Crystal Wells
October 31, 2014
A nation that not 20 years ago was struggling with malnutrition, Brazil is now waging an all-too-familiar battle of the bulge.
Meet the Chef Fighting to Ensure That Brazilians Will Never Be as Fat as Americans
Brandon Presser
June 25, 2014
Starvation and diseases arising from malnutrition were daily worries.
The Optimistic Science
Michael Maiello
October 15, 2011

Historical Examples of malnutrition

Malnutrition or anemia are also conditions which greatly disturb sleep.
The Mother and Her Child
William S. Sadler
Country children have adenoids, bad teeth, and malnutrition.
Civics and Health
William H. Allen
Malnutrition of the trees may result also in the production of oily beans.
All About Coffee
William H. Ukers
This is claimed by Knowles, however, to be due to malnutrition.
Barium, A Cause of the Loco-Weed Disease
Albert Cornelius Crawford
In a month they were already thinning down from malnutrition and strain.
Comet's Burial
Raymond Zinke Gallun

British Dictionary definitions for malnutrition

malnutrition

noun

lack of adequate nutrition resulting from insufficient food, unbalanced diet, or defective assimilation

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

Word Origin and History for malnutrition

1843, from mal- + nutrition.

malnutrition in Medicine

malnutrition

[măl′nōō-trĭsh′ən]

n.

Poor nutrition because of an insufficient or poorly balanced diet or faulty digestion or utilization of foods.

malnutrition in Science

malnutrition

[măl′nōō-trĭsh′ən]

Poor nutrition caused by an insufficient, oversufficient, or poorly balanced diet or by a medical condition, such as chronic diarrhea, resulting in inadequate digestion or utilization of foods.

malnutrition in Culture

malnutrition

Inadequate nutrition caused by the lack of a balanced diet or by disorders of the digestive system in which the nutrients from food cannot be absorbed properly.