shantytowns

noun

plural of shantytown
as in favelas
a usually poor town or a part of a town where the people live in shanties

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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 shantytowns In the brightly billboarded carcass of a West Coast city, private security shields the corporate enclaves of a tech élite from the shantytowns of the economically superfluous. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shantytowns
  1. jungles
  2. encampments
Noun
  • Popular treks include summit Mount Kinabalu, a 4,095-meter (13,435-foot) mountain in Borneo, or week-long treks in the jungles of Gunung Tahan, home to the highest point in pensinular Malaysia, the 2,187-meter (7,175-foot) Mount Tahan.
    — Jack Guy, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Beyond the Korean Peninsula, the Army is focusing more on motorized units that can operate on islands, in jungles, along coasts, and in maritime settings.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 23 July 2026
Definition of jungles
Noun
  • Homeless encampments have become a public health issue, Meier said, but banning them does not solve the problem.
    — Laura Horne, Charlotte Observer, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Although small fires have been reported at encampments, a significant wildfire has not been linked to homelessness within the city this year.
    — Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of encampments

Browse Nearby Words

shantytown
shantytowns
shapable
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Cite this Entry

“Shantytowns.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shantytowns. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on shantytowns

Nglish: Translation of shantytowns for Spanish Speakers

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