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

Many suffer from malnutrition and avoidable infectious diseases. —Saumya Roy, The Dial, 6 Jan. 2026

Shortages of food, once guaranteed by a government rationing system, are threatening to push millions of Cubans closer to malnutrition. —Patrick Oppmann, CNN Money, 5 Jan. 2026

The piece details how the aid cuts led Mercy Corps to end a program that treated acute malnutrition in the region, and how a child who had been enrolled in the program then died. —Stat Staff, STAT, 29 Dec. 2025

Stray pets have not been spared; countless dogs and cats were abandoned as families fled, leading to a surge in malnutrition, diseases like parvovirus, anemia and respiratory infections. —Tavleen Tarrant, NBC news, 28 Dec. 2025

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