privation
noun
pri·va·tion
prī-ˈvā-shən 
1
: an act or instance of depriving : deprivation
2
: the state of being deprived
especially
: lack of what is needed for existence
Examples of privation in a Sentence
The country has suffered through long periods of economic privation.
the constant privation of sleep was starting to affect my work
Recent Examples on the Web
At first, the complaints from workers who'd escaped -- detailing forced labor, privation and torture -- had seemed extraordinary to Rezende.
—
Terrence McCoy The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 31 Aug. 2025
In light of the extraordinary privations and mass killing of Gaza’s civilian population in the current war, Hamas’s external leader, Khaled Meshaal, has likened Gaza to Algeria, where independence was achieved only after the death of more than a million civilians.
—Leila Seurat, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2025
The east-to-west processional from Scone, near Perth, to Oban would have been a journey of about 100 miles and would have involved a great deal of privation.
—Carlton Reid, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
The policy, while inevitably controversial, was meant to correct for the nearly fifty years of brutal privations that Black South Africans endured under apartheid.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 1 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for privation
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Terrence McCoy The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 31 Aug. 2025
In light of the extraordinary privations and mass killing of Gaza’s civilian population in the current war, Hamas’s external leader, Khaled Meshaal, has likened Gaza to Algeria, where independence was achieved only after the death of more than a million civilians.
—Leila Seurat, Foreign Affairs, 26 Aug. 2025
The east-to-west processional from Scone, near Perth, to Oban would have been a journey of about 100 miles and would have involved a great deal of privation.
—Carlton Reid, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
The policy, while inevitably controversial, was meant to correct for the nearly fifty years of brutal privations that Black South Africans endured under apartheid.
—Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 1 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for privation
Cite this Entry
“Privation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/privation. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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privation
noun
pri·va·tion
prī-ˈvā-shən
: the state of being deprived
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