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
Shampoo grew up in Vila do Ipsep, a favela in Recife.
—
Jack Lang, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Children play with a ball in front of a mural depicting the Brazilian World Cup football team at the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro on November 23, 2022.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for favela
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Jack Lang, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
Children play with a ball in front of a mural depicting the Brazilian World Cup football team at the Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro on November 23, 2022.
—Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for favela
Cite this Entry
“Favela.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/favela. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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