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
Synonym Usage
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.
After a childhood of privation, Zhang Xin educated herself abroad and rode China’s real-estate boom to become a billionaire.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 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
Michelle Dowd was taught how to survive in L.A.’s mountains by a family cult built around privation.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2023
The film is an unusually layered look at how the combination of privation, misplaced familial loyalty and just plain rotten luck can make the immigrant experience in America a nightmare.
From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2023
He was as ragged as a rock star, but his missing teeth and the unhealthy pallor of his skin spoke eloquently of a life of privation and despair.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
