as in favelas
a usually poor town or a part of a town where the people live in shanties
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Recent Examples of shantytowns
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shantytowns
Noun
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It is logged deep in the jungles, processed in sawmills and finally exported.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Venezuela is roughly twice the size of Iraq, with a vast and diverse terrain that includes mountains, jungles and a densely populated urban coastline.—
Leonardo Feldman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Also, Fateh has criticized Frey’s move to clear homeless encampments in the city without offering housing.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Nov. 2025
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San Diego crews have cleared 184 encampments near freeways since the city got access over the summer to state land through a new agreement with the California Department of Transportation.—
Blake Nelson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shantytowns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shantytowns. Accessed 12 Nov. 2025.
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