SINCE 1828
favela
noun
fa·ve·la
| \ fə-ˈve-lə
\
\
variants:
or less commonly favella
Definition of favela
: 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
Among the invited: Dutch artist Jeroen Koolhaas, known for colorful, 3D murals that wrap around buildings, including a famous project weaving through multiple structures in historically neglected favelas of Rio de Janeiro. — Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Know, "For Denver, Crush Walls is a street art fest. For street artists, it’s a show of real respect.," 1 Sep. 2019 Produced by Darren Aronofsky, Brazilian director Paxton Winters is screening Pacified, a story about the friendship between a teenager and a drug trafficker set against the police crackdown on Rio's favelas during the Olympic Games. — Jennifer Green, The Hollywood Reporter, "San Sebastian Festival Adds Six Films to Competition," 22 Aug. 2019 In the early 1960s, photographer Gordon Parks traveled to Brazil and photographed a poignant story about a young favela dweller named Flávio da Silva that highlighted issues of poverty and inequity in that country. — Los Angeles Times, "Datebook: How Duke Ellington inspired an art show about black and Latino experience," 15 Aug. 2019 With the funds, the staff at the magazine bought a home for the Da Silva family, a modest concrete bungalow in a working-class neighborhood that represented a vast improvement over their shack in the favela. — Los Angeles Times, "Flavio da Silva, photographed as a boy in Brazil’s favelas, on the images that outraged," 19 July 2019 In the early 1960s, photographer Gordon Parks traveled to Brazil and photographed a poignant story about a young favela dweller named Flávio da Silva that highlighted issues of poverty and inequity in that country. — Los Angeles Times, "Datebook: Jasmine Little etches the history of art into contemporary ceramics," 18 July 2019 Franco, an outspoken defender of human rights since a stray bullet killed a friend during a shootout between police and drug traffickers in 2005, grew up in the Mare complex of favelas, or slums, where violence and police incursions are frequent. — Jill Langlois, latimes.com, "Outspoken Rio councilwoman who fought for the marginalized is shot to death; thousands mourn," 15 Mar. 2018 Pacification efforts to curtail crime in these communities (also called favelas, though this term has developed a derogatory connotation over time) have not entirely worked. — Nick Remsen, Vogue, "Rio de Janeiro, Right Now: 5 Reasons to Visit the Extraordinary Brazilian City," 19 Mar. 2019 Days before her assassination, Franco, an expert on police violence, accused officers of being overly aggressive in searching residents of favela slums. — Washington Post, "Protests, anger a month after Brazil activist slain," 14 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'favela.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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