favela

noun

fa·​ve·​la fə-ˈve-lə How to pronounce favela (audio)
variants or less commonly favella
: a settlement of jerry-built shacks lying on the outskirts of a Brazilian city

Examples of favela in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, São Paulo’s industrial backstreets and the walls along the metro lines have always been arenas for expression. Daniel Scheffler, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2025 This début novel is a chronicle of Rocinha, a favela in Rio de Janeiro, and follows the efforts of a group of male friends to score drugs, make a few dollars, and inch toward a better life. The New Yorker, New Yorker, 28 July 2025 Next up for Globo is School Without Walls, a film about a public school in one of Brazil’s biggest favelas directed by Cao Hamburger, that is a co-production of Brazil’s Gullane, Portugal’s Ukbar Filmes and France’s Playtime Group that is also backed by Telecine. Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 June 2025 Eduardo Ferro’s 405 Films has acquired the life rights of Brazilian MMA champion Charles Oliveira, with plans to develop an untitled feature film chronicling the fighter’s journey from the favelas to UFC stardom. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for favela

Word History

Etymology

Brazilian Portuguese favela, perhaps from Favela, hill outside Rio de Janeiro

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of favela was in 1946

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Favela.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/favela. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on favela

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!