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
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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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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.
A decade and a half of gloom followed, during which, Mr. Gittlitz notes, the atmosphere of Dust Bowl privation at Shea was underscored by corn and tomato plants growing like subsistence crops in the bullpen.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
To be united for prayer again "is an indescribable feeling after two years of privation", Ghalid al-Nimra told AFP at Gaza City's Sayed Hachem mosque.
From Barron's • Oct. 17, 2025
But Victoria only sees dirty cots and unbathed children — privation.
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2025
Larger fires are also adding to the job’s traditional dangers and difficulties, such as exposure to smoke and other toxins, long stretches away from home and physical privation.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 25, 2023
She almost keeled over into the tracks as she howled after the train, her throat raspy and raw after days of privation.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
