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hovel

noun

ˈhə-vəl How to pronounce hovel (audio)
Definition of hovelnext
as in hut
a small, simply constructed, and often temporary dwelling refugees living in crowded hovels

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hovel The ceiling, in contrast to my first hovel, couldn’t be reached except by a tall ladder. — Literary Hub, 20 Feb. 2026 My friend was the definition of a reluctant landlord — an anti-Establishment type who furnished her grad-school hovel with wine crates and avoided any talk of money. — Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 22 Jan. 2026 In what by American standards would be considered a hovel, Gong is raised by his aging grandparents, his mother having abandoned him as a small child. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 29 Dec. 2025 Renaissance palaces next to hovels, 194 churches, and the domed roofs of onetime mosques—all reminders of countless invaders. — Antonia Quirke, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Mar. 2019 See All Example Sentences for hovel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hovel
  1. hut
  2. camp
  3. shack
  4. cabin
Noun
  • Yaga reimagines the witch, who is known to live in a hut on chicken legs and potentially is a murderous seductress or powerful enchantress, depending on the author of the tale.
    — Denise Petski, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The plague took his wife and children, and all that remains is a hut, the animal that shares it through the winter for warmth, and the daily toll of survival.
    — JP Mangalindan, Time, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of hut
Noun
  • Delane injured his shoulder while being tackled on the interception, an ailment that cost him time in training camp.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Ditka has been losing contemporaries since July of 1964, when Willie Gallimore’s Volkswagen swerved and rolled, killing Gallimore and Bo Farrington in a training camp tragedy.
    — Dan Pompei, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of camp
Noun
  • Beach shack Walker d’ Plank feels especially authentic and fun for a luxury hotel.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026
  • After, she was ostracized by her own community and lived the rest of her life isolated in a shack in the woods.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of shack
Noun
  • Flight attendants reported intense shaking and seeing a small amount of smoke or fog in the cabin before oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Booth recalled that the cabin remained largely silent for the rest of the flight.
    — Kaanita Iyer, CNN Money, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of cabin

Browse Nearby Words

housings
hovel
hovels
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Cite this Entry

“Hovel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hovel. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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