as in starving
not eating enough food or not eating enough healthy food; poorly nourished
The malnourished children were slowly nursed back to health.
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Recent Examples of malnourished
But for every malnourished child receiving treatment, there are many more who cannot get help.
—
ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
First responders noticed that the child seemed malnourished and had bruising on his body, police said.
—Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Those children were severely malnourished and underweight, according to the district attorney’s office, weighing 48 and 50 pounds, respectively, when they were removed from Helton's home.
—Ricardo Delgado, San Antonio Express-News, 6 Feb. 2026
It will be devoured by the 49ers Faithful’s malnourished soul that has craved another championship for 31 years.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for malnourished
ABC News, 18 Feb. 2026
First responders noticed that the child seemed malnourished and had bruising on his body, police said.
—Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Those children were severely malnourished and underweight, according to the district attorney’s office, weighing 48 and 50 pounds, respectively, when they were removed from Helton's home.
—Ricardo Delgado, San Antonio Express-News, 6 Feb. 2026
It will be devoured by the 49ers Faithful’s malnourished soul that has craved another championship for 31 years.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for malnourished
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malnourished
Adjective
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The kid appeared undernourished and wearing a torn Miami Heat T-shirt.—
David Dickstein,
Oc Register,
11 Mar. 2026
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Fueling your body inadequately will leave you feeling dissatisfied and undernourished.—
Jamie Johnson,
Verywell Health,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The sun is being devoured by energy-hungry microbes, called Astrophage, and the resulting cooling threatens to wipe out much of Earth’s population.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
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Rivian has been teasing the R2 for a while now, dangling the promise of a smaller, cheaper, more attainable version of its beloved R1S in front of adventure-hungry buyers who couldn’t quite stretch to the $77,000-plus sticker of its halo SUV.—
Kevin Sintumuang,
Outside,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Malnourished.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malnourished. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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