as in deprivation
the state of being robbed of something normally enjoyed
the constant privation of sleep was starting to affect my work
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Recent Examples of privation
In August, global food security experts said that parts of Gaza were experiencing famine and that severe hunger and privation were widespread there.
—
New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Since 2022, Russia repeatedly urged China to act quickly to save its economy from inevitable privations stemming from the collapse of its Western market.
—Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
In light of the extraordinary privations and mass killing of Gaza’s civilian population in the current war, Hamas’s external leader, Khaled Meshaal, has likened Gaza to Algeria, where independence was achieved only after the death of more than a million civilians.
—Leila Seurat, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2025
Laos, like almost all the countries in what was once Indochina—the fecund area of Southeast Asia controlled (minus Thailand) by the British or French for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries—has endured terrible privations and suffered a particularly brutal recent history.
—Hanya Yanagihara, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Nov. 2018
See All Example Sentences for privation
New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Since 2022, Russia repeatedly urged China to act quickly to save its economy from inevitable privations stemming from the collapse of its Western market.
—Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
In light of the extraordinary privations and mass killing of Gaza’s civilian population in the current war, Hamas’s external leader, Khaled Meshaal, has likened Gaza to Algeria, where independence was achieved only after the death of more than a million civilians.
—Leila Seurat, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2025
Laos, like almost all the countries in what was once Indochina—the fecund area of Southeast Asia controlled (minus Thailand) by the British or French for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries—has endured terrible privations and suffered a particularly brutal recent history.
—Hanya Yanagihara, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Nov. 2018
See All Example Sentences for privation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for privation
Noun
-
Loyal’s drug is designed to trigger some of the same effects, without a dog having to face any of the deprivations experienced by GLP-1 users or the Labradors in the Purina study.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2026
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Preclinical research shows long-term estrogen deprivation epigenetically silences BDNF in the hippocampus, blunting the brain’s response to exercise over time.—
Torie Bosch,
STAT,
2 May 2026
Noun
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Staff and managers complained about the lack of specifics, as did legal-services providers and advocacy groups.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
7 May 2026
-
Pratt took aim at Bass over the lack of water available during the inferno, with fire hydrants running dry.—
David Zahniser,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Privation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/privation. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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