malnourished
adjective
mal·nour·ished
ˌmal-ˈnər-isht 
-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
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
Melissa Hendricks Patients may become malnourished from being unable to take food by mouth … —Laura Landro
Laura Landro Examples of malnourished in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
How can our leaders cut funding for UNICEF, which feeds the most severely malnourished children and provides clean water and medicine?
—William Lambers, Sun Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2025
In recent days, NBC News and CNN both ran stories with shocking visuals of malnourished children, along with numerous segments about the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and Israel’s restriction of aid coming into the area.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Gaza health officials say severely malnourished children have died.
—Samuel Granados, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2025
Gut-wrenching images have emerged of malnourished children suffering amid the lack of food and other aid in Gaza.
—Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for malnourished
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.
William Lambers, Sun Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2025
In recent days, NBC News and CNN both ran stories with shocking visuals of malnourished children, along with numerous segments about the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and Israel’s restriction of aid coming into the area.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Gaza health officials say severely malnourished children have died.
—Samuel Granados, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2025
Gut-wrenching images have emerged of malnourished children suffering amid the lack of food and other aid in Gaza.
—Leah Sarnoff, ABC News, 30 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for malnourished
Cite this Entry
“Malnourished.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/malnourished. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
malnourished
adjective
mal·nour·ished
(ˈ)mal-ˈnər-isht
-ˈnə-risht
: poorly nourished : undernourished
Medical Definition
malnourished
adjective
mal·nour·ished
(ˈ)mal-ˈnər-isht, -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
Maria Konnikova
especially
: undernourished
How do you help malnourished children and assure that they won't go hungry again after you leave? —Melissa Hendricks
Melissa Hendricks Patients may become malnourished from being unable to take food by mouth … —Laura Landro
Laura Landro Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share