shantytown

noun

Definition of shantytownnext
as in jungle
a usually poor town or a part of a town where the people live in shanties

Related Words

Relevance

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 shantytown Their target was the Comando Vermelho (CV), or Red Command, a criminal organization that has ruled these hillside shantytowns for decades. — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025 Farmers once proud of living and working their ancestral land were driven into poverty and forced into shantytowns. — Nik Kowsar, Time, 2 Oct. 2025 These new shantytowns are plagued with substance abuse, violence and prostitution. — Chicago Tribune, 17 Aug. 2025 In 2011, federal agents raided the shantytown and made dozens of arrests. — Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for shantytown
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shantytown
  1. jungle
  2. favela
  3. encampment
  4. Hooverville
Noun
  • In some ultra-competitive genres—Northern soul, hip-hop, jungle—selectors have been known to cover up the center stickers of their records, or leave white labels unmarked, to throw boothsnooping DJs off the scent.
    — Philip Sherburne, Pitchfork, 18 July 2026
  • The journey leads from the jungle into the Andes — and from fieldwork into memory, exile and family loss.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 17 July 2026
Definition of jungle
Noun
  • There's also the time he got lost in a favela in Brazil with a carful of German fans.
    — Wendy Grossman Kantor, PEOPLE, 11 June 2026
  • But soccer enthusiast Rafael Gomes says that the reality of life in the favela has sometimes caught up with them.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 June 2026
Definition of favela
Noun
  • The lawsuit alleges that federal pressure on the university following the encampments led to Thrasher’s suspension, internal disciplinary charges, denial of tenure and upcoming termination.
    — Kate Perez, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026
  • The free festa features a wine garden and tastings, a cultural and culinary stage, live entertainment, a grape stomp, Roman encampment and sword demos, a children’s zone and an Italian fashion show.
    — Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 19 July 2026
Definition of encampment
Noun
  • Our lead, Joe Rance (Callum Turner), trudges to campus from a Hooverville; later, the coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton), pokes around his crew’s lockers to count the holes in their shoes.
    — Amy Nicholson, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2023
Definition of Hooverville

Browse Nearby Words

shanty
shantytown
shantytowns
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shantytown.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shantytown. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on shantytown

Nglish: Translation of shantytown for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about shantytown

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of stalwart

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All