undernourished

U1N1D2E1R1N1O1U1R1I1S1H4E1D2

adjective

Provided with insufficient nourishment to sustain proper health and growth.

Similar
ill-fedunderfedmalnourished
OriginEnglish nourished ← Middle English under- ← Old English under- →
UncommonScrabble 19
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Meanings

adjectiveundernourished (comparative more undernourished, superlative most undernourished)

comparative more undernourished · superlative most undernourished

  1. Provided with insufficient nourishment to sustain proper health and growth.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectivenot getting adequate food

Similar
ill-fedunderfedmalnourished
Also see
ill-fedmalnourishedunderfed

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁entér
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂én
  4. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  5. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰí
  6. Proto-Indo-European*(H)n̥dʰér
  7. Proto-Germanic*under
  8. Proto-West Germanic*undar
  9. Old Englishunder-
  10. Middle Englishunder-
  11. Englishunder-
  12. Englishnourished
  13. Englishundernourished

From under- + nourished.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian недохранен
  • недохранен (nedohranen)insufficiently nourished
Finnish aliravittu
  • aliravittuinsufficiently nourished
German unterernährt
  • unterernährtinsufficiently nourished
Hindi कुपोषित
  • कुपोषित (kupoṣit)insufficiently nourished
Hungarian alultáplált
  • alultápláltinsufficiently nourished
Irish gannchothaithe, tearc-chothaithe
  • gannchothaitheinsufficiently nourished
  • tearc-chothaitheinsufficiently nourished
Italian denutrito
  • denutritoinsufficiently nourished
Polish niedożywiony
  • niedożywionyinsufficiently nourished
Spanish desnutrido
  • desnutridoinsufficiently nourished
Swedish undernärd
  • undernärdinsufficiently nourished
Cite this entry
APA

undernourished. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/undernourished

MLA

“undernourished.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/undernourished. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “undernourished,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/undernourished.

Source: undernourished on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.