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Definition of privation - 3 dictionary results

pri⋅va⋅tion

  [prahy-vey-shuhn]
Use privation in a Sentence
–noun
1. lack of the usual comforts or necessaries of life: His life of privation began to affect his health.
2. an instance of this.
3. the act of depriving.
4. the state of being deprived.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME (< MF privacion) < L prīvātiōn- (s. of prīvātiō) a taking away. See private, -ion

Synonyms:
1. deprivation, want, need, distress. See hardship.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To privation
pri·va·tion   (prī-vā'shən)   
n.  

    1. Lack of the basic necessities or comforts of life.

    2. The condition resulting from such lack.

  2. An act, condition, or result of deprivation or loss.


[Middle English privacion, from Old French privation, from Latin prīvātiō, prīvātiōn-, from prīvātus, past participle of prīvāre, to deprive; see private.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

privation 
1340, "action of depriving," from O.Fr. privacion, from L. privationem (nom. privatio) "a taking away," from privatus, pp. of privare "deprive" (see private). Meaning "want of life's comforts or of some necessity" is attested from 1790.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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