as in deprivation
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 privation
In August, global food security experts said that parts of Gaza were experiencing famine and that severe hunger and privation were widespread there.
—
New York Times, 1 Oct. 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
Laos, like almost all the countries in what was once Indochina—the fecund area of Southeast Asia controlled (minus Thailand) by the British or French for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries—has endured terrible privations and suffered a particularly brutal recent history.
—Hanya Yanagihara, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Nov. 2018
See All Example Sentences for privation
New York Times, 1 Oct. 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
Laos, like almost all the countries in what was once Indochina—the fecund area of Southeast Asia controlled (minus Thailand) by the British or French for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries—has endured terrible privations and suffered a particularly brutal recent history.
—Hanya Yanagihara, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Nov. 2018
See All Example Sentences for privation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for privation
Noun
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Outside of those classes, the most difficult thing about the experience is the sleep deprivation.—
Heather Greenwood Davis,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 Apr. 2026
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Diets and food deprivation did not.—
Ralphie Aversa,
USA Today,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Goldman Sachs estimated that Qatar could see its GDP plunge by 14%, citing its lack of alternative export channels to the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
29 Apr. 2026
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This Fire sign is, after all, notorious for its lack of a filter… and the 24-year-old singer just so happens to have her sun, Venus and Pluto here.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Privation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/privation. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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