1
: an open shed or shelter
2
religion
: tabernacle
3
: a small, wretched, and often dirty house : hut
Synonyms
Examples of hovel in a Sentence
refugees living in crowded hovels
Recent Examples on the Web
Moon’s family embodies the dislocation: He was born in a hovel on Geoje Island, off Korea’s southeast coast, three years after his mother fled the North on a U.S. cargo ship with 14,000 other refugees as part of the Hungnam evacuation.
—
Victor Gaetan, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2017
In the aftermath of her death, Arthur is living an itinerant existence in a shack near Flora’s estate; both his hovel and her grand but desolate home are tombs of their own, waiting to be plundered thousands of years in the future by some other brave troupe.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
How far does the cash go? Mounir Kahil and his family, who live by candlelight in a hovel in Beirut’s southern suburbs, are among those benefiting from the cash handouts.
—Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Sep. 2023
The movie, about three young women shacking up in a rancid hovel in the French provinces, premiered in Locarno and screened at the Oldenburg film festival in 2010.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Sep. 2023
See all Example Sentences for hovel 
Victor Gaetan, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2017
In the aftermath of her death, Arthur is living an itinerant existence in a shack near Flora’s estate; both his hovel and her grand but desolate home are tombs of their own, waiting to be plundered thousands of years in the future by some other brave troupe.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Apr. 2024
How far does the cash go? Mounir Kahil and his family, who live by candlelight in a hovel in Beirut’s southern suburbs, are among those benefiting from the cash handouts.
—Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Sep. 2023
The movie, about three young women shacking up in a rancid hovel in the French provinces, premiered in Locarno and screened at the Oldenburg film festival in 2010.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Sep. 2023
See all Example Sentences for hovel
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hovel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hovel. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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