privation

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English privacioun, from Middle French privation, privacion, from Old French privacion, from Latin prīvātiō; compare French privation. See private.

noun

1. (philosophy) The state of being deprived of or lacking an attribute formerly or properly possessed; the loss or absence of such an attribute.
2. The state of being very poor, and lacking the basic necessities of life.
   For Yen Hsüeh-mei, the Shanghai-bred nurse, life in northern Hupei must have represented a striking change. Lao-ho-k'ou was the headquarters of General Li Tsung-jen, commander of the Fifth War Area.[…]If the General lived in such humble quarters, it is safe to say that the quarters to which Chiang Kuei brought his wife were plainer yet. But physical privation was nearly universal and in many ways Lao-ho-k'ou was an interesting place to be. 1974, Timothy A. Ross, Chiang Kuei, New York: Twayne Publishers, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 59
   Mr. McCarthy wrote for many years in relative obscurity and privation. 2023-06-13, Dwight Garner, “Cormac McCarthy, Novelist of a Darker America, Is Dead at 89”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
3. The act of depriving someone of such basic necessities; deprivation.
4. (obsolete) Degradation or suspension from an office.