as in deprivations
the state of being robbed of something normally enjoyed
the constant privation of sleep was starting to affect my work
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Recent Examples of privations
Diaries kept by Eugenia Zieber describe the privations of the trail, chief among them the frequent deaths of fellow travelers.
—
Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
At seventy, Padura is a voice of a generation that endured a long war in Angola and the privations that followed the Soviet collapse.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Since 2022, Russia repeatedly urged China to act quickly to save its economy from inevitable privations stemming from the collapse of its Western market.
—Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 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
Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
At seventy, Padura is a voice of a generation that endured a long war in Angola and the privations that followed the Soviet collapse.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
Since 2022, Russia repeatedly urged China to act quickly to save its economy from inevitable privations stemming from the collapse of its Western market.
—Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for privations
Noun
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But, after a quarter of a century of political fracturing, sanctions, and myriad economic deprivations, that isn’t the only task facing the country.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
4 Jan. 2026
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According to plaintiffs, these arrests were frequently accompanied by deprivations of basic human dignity, including being ill-treated, with inadequate food, uncomfortable and crowded sleeping facilities, and without information as to the duration or locations of detention.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
2 Dec. 2025
Noun
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So Vegas has to hope that their forward depth is strong enough to balance out where their star power lacks, relative to other contenders.—
The Athletic NHL,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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This absence — of God, of love, of plain community spirit — is a metaphor for the whole parish, where everyone is defined by their own lacks and deficiencies, the weaknesses that cause Wicks to despise them and vow to bring down them all.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Privations.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/privations. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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