malnutrition

noun

mal·​nu·​tri·​tion ˌmal-nu̇-ˈtri-shən 

-nyu̇-

: faulty nutrition due to inadequate or unbalanced intake of nutrients or their impaired assimilation or utilization

Examples of malnutrition in a Sentence

a program to help poor children suffering from malnutrition

Recent Examples on the Web

Virginia Marie Gonzales, 33, pleaded guilty to felony injury to a child on Thursday, less than a year after the discovery of her child’s malnutrition and neglect. —Julianna Duennes Russ, Austin American Statesman, 23 Jan. 2026

Public health experts, including Atul Gawande of Harvard’s School of Public Health, already estimate hundreds of thousands of deaths from infectious diseases and malnutrition since early 2025. —Sylvana Quader Sinha, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026

The administration abruptly halted USAID's global health work, which had saved millions of lives from scourges like AIDS, malaria and malnutrition over the course of six decades. —Npr Staff, NPR, 23 Jan. 2026

World Vision, the world’s largest evangelical humanitarian organization, lost 10% of its budget, laid off as many as 3,000 employees and cut programs engaged in HIV/AIDS prevention and child health care and malnutrition in countries like Bangladesh, Kenya and Rwanda. —Jennifer Hadden, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1862, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for malnutrition

• abolition
• acquisition
• admonition
• ammunition
• apparition
• apposition
• coalition
• competition
• composition
• definition
• deglutition
• demolition

Kids Definition

malnutrition

noun

mal·​nu·​tri·​tion ˌmal-n(y)u̇-ˈtrish-ən 

: faulty nutrition especially due to inadequate intake of nutrients

Medical Definition

malnutrition

noun

mal·​nu·​tri·​tion ˌmal-n(y)u̇-ˈtrish-ən 

: faulty nutrition due to inadequate or unbalanced intake of nutrients or their impaired assimilation or utilization

malnutritional

-ᵊl 

adjective