Standard Lemma guide

undernourishment

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Insufficient nourishment

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The condition of being undernourished

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

not having enough food to develop or function normally

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: malnourishment

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hunger, hungriness

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h1én Proto-Indo-European *h1entér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dhí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dhér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- English nourishment English undernourishment From under- + nourishment.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Czech: podvýživa — insufficient nourishment
  • Danish: underernæring — insufficient nourishment
  • German: Unterernährung — insufficient nourishment
  • Indonesian: kurang gizi — insufficient nourishment
  • Norwegian Bokmål: underernæring — insufficient nourishment
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: underernæring — insufficient nourishment
  • Swedish: undernäring — insufficient nourishment