malnourished

adjective

mal·​nour·​ished ˌmal-ˈnər-isht How to pronounce malnourished (audio)
-ˈnə-risht
: supplied with less than the minimum or an unbalanced amount of the nutrients or foods essential for sound health and growth : marked by malnutrition
When it comes to certain nutrients, in fact, an estimated 80 to 90 percent of obese individuals are malnourished.Maria Konnikova
especially : undernourished sense 1
How do you help malnourished children and assure that they won't go hungry again after you leave? Melissa Hendricks
Patients may become malnourished from being unable to take food by mouth … Laura Landro

Examples of malnourished in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Doctors report malnourished patients dying from infections at Gaza hospital Over the last several weeks, more aid has entered Gaza, mostly though the south. Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 6 May 2024 An Indiana shelter is caring for a puppy who was found malnourished and abandoned in a porta-potty. Jennifer Rodriguez, Kansas City Star, 5 May 2024 But in about 2% of pregnancies, a condition called hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) causes such intense symptoms that the mother can become severely dehydrated and malnourished. Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 2 May 2024 Wiseman says trafficking happens anywhere that people are abused, malnourished and financially controlled. Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Apr. 2024 The images from Gaza — of shattered cities, families killed together in their homes, malnourished children — do not often appear on the nightly news here. William Booth, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024 Show more Nutrition screenings in Khan Younis in central Gaza determined that 28% of children under 2 years old are acutely malnourished, more than 10% of them with severe wasting, according to UNICEF. NBC News, 16 Mar. 2024 Around 220,000 severely malnourished children and more than 7,000 new mothers could die in Sudan if urgent assistance doesn’t reach them in the coming months, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an update Wednesday. Pallabi Munsi, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024 The total number of acutely malnourished children is expected to have risen even higher in the days and weeks since the screenings occurred. Sarah Ferguson, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'malnourished.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of malnourished was in 1911

Dictionary Entries Near malnourished

Cite this Entry

“Malnourished.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malnourished. Accessed 15 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

malnourished

adjective
mal·​nour·​ished (ˈ)mal-ˈnər-isht How to pronounce malnourished (audio)
-ˈnə-risht
: poorly nourished : undernourished

Medical Definition

malnourished

adjective
mal·​nour·​ished (ˈ)mal-ˈnər-isht, -ˈnə-risht How to pronounce malnourished (audio)
: supplied with less than the minimum or an unbalanced amount of the nutrients or foods essential for sound health and growth : marked by malnutrition
When it comes to certain nutrients, in fact, an estimated 80 to 90 percent of obese individuals are malnourished.Maria Konnikova
especially : undernourished
How do you help malnourished children and assure that they won't go hungry again after you leave? Melissa Hendricks
Patients may become malnourished from being unable to take food by mouth … Laura Landro
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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