as in starvation
the unhealthy condition that results from not eating enough food or not eating enough healthy food; poor nutrition
a program to help poor children suffering from malnutrition
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Recent Examples of malnutrition
Globally, under-five child mortality fell by more than half since 2000, in major part owing to the advances in malnutrition treatment, which saved more than a million lives in 2023 alone.
—
The New Yorker, New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2025
Your height is determined by a combination of genes (traits passed down in families) and environmental factors, such as an unbalanced diet, malnutrition, economic status, and certain conditions.
—Mark Gurarie, Health, 1 Nov. 2025
According to food-security experts, extreme malnutrition in Gaza, already high, skyrocketed after GHF took over; according to Netanyahu, the foundation failed to prevent looting by Hamas.
—Hana Kiros, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025
On the floor of their tiny makeshift home in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, her mother Fatima Begum feeds Sofiya by rubbing her gums with a food paste designed to treat severe malnutrition.
—Rebecca Wright, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malnutrition
The New Yorker, New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2025
Your height is determined by a combination of genes (traits passed down in families) and environmental factors, such as an unbalanced diet, malnutrition, economic status, and certain conditions.
—Mark Gurarie, Health, 1 Nov. 2025
According to food-security experts, extreme malnutrition in Gaza, already high, skyrocketed after GHF took over; according to Netanyahu, the foundation failed to prevent looting by Hamas.
—Hana Kiros, The Atlantic, 27 Oct. 2025
On the floor of their tiny makeshift home in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, her mother Fatima Begum feeds Sofiya by rubbing her gums with a food paste designed to treat severe malnutrition.
—Rebecca Wright, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for malnutrition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for malnutrition
starvation
Noun
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As Hoffine noted, hunger often kills not just through starvation, but by weakening immune systems to the point where people can't fight off disease.—
Nurith Aizenman,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
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Nearly 400,000 people are facing starvation, as defined by Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s Phase 5 threshold.—
David Miliband,
Time,
4 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Malnutrition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/malnutrition. Accessed 8 Dec. 2025.
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