How to Use favela in a Sentence

favela

noun
  • There’s the kibbutz in Israel, and the favela in Brazil.
    Marcus M. Gilban, sun-sentinel.com, 3 June 2021
  • One of the dead was a police officer, the rest lived in the favela.
    David Miranda, Time, 8 May 2021
  • Jesus grew up in a Sao Paulo favela, and joined Palmeiras’ youth program as a pre-teen.
    Michelle Kaufman, miamiherald, 25 May 2018
  • Maria de Pena Souza, 59, lives with her 24-year-old son in a small house with a zinc roof in the Lins favela in western Rio.
    Peter Prengaman, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2017
  • Maybe something will trigger it, like a killing in a favela somewhere.
    Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes, 30 May 2021
  • The most recent raid near this favela occurred ten days ago and left at least seven dead.
    Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 13 June 2020
  • Paulo Roberto Nunes, 52, sells peanuts in Rocinha, Rio's largest favela.
    Anchorage Daily News, 2 Apr. 2020
  • The arrival of the first formal public transit was supposed to transform the favela.
    Wired, 2 Oct. 2019
  • Six hundred more signed up for space on an empty field beside a favela.
    Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 25 June 2021
  • Drug gangs in the favelas and militia groups led by rogue ex-police regained ground.
    The Economist, 3 Sep. 2019
  • So far, Lyra has secured the commitment from the São Paulo state to roll out the project at nine medium-size favelas.
    Angelica Mari, WIRED, 18 Aug. 2023
  • One week later, eight young men were killed by police in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro’s largest favela.
    Kiratiana Freelon, The Root, 26 Apr. 2018
  • The Rocinha favela has one main, winding street and the rest of the community has been built on the slopes of Two Brothers Mountain.
    Mimi Whitefield, miamiherald, 17 Oct. 2017
  • Meanwhile, for the young people growing up in the favelas, the convention is an event to look forward to.
    Gabriel Leão, WIRED, 27 Dec. 2023
  • Baracho, 49, grew up just outside the favela, playing pick-up soccer on its dirt fields.
    David Biller, Star Tribune, 10 Nov. 2020
  • Since then, 52 people have been killed in the favela and an additional 10 injured.
    Jill Langlois, latimes.com, 26 Mar. 2018
  • From the piece: Promises that the Olympics would modernize Rio and make its streets safer and favelas cleaner have also failed.
    Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 10 Aug. 2017
  • In May, a police raid on another Rio favela killed 23 people, and last year, a shootout in a third slum left at least 29 people dead.
    Marina Lopes, Washington Post, 22 July 2022
  • She was born in Moça Bonita, an impoverished favela in Rio de Janeiro.
    Giovanni Russonello, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2017
  • Shoot-outs in favelas, or shantytowns, have killed dozens of people.
    The Economist, 5 Oct. 2017
  • Lucas admitted that the same driver had taken him to a favela a few weeks earlier, to buy a gun.
    Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 7 June 2021
  • Her last post on Twitter called attention to the murder of a young favela resident.
    Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2018
  • In a flimsy wooden structure in a small favela on the outer edges of São Paulo, a kitchen, bed, and television occupy the same room.
    Vasco Cotovio, CNN, 28 Oct. 2022
  • Many houses in the favelas are makeshift shacks of cardboard and discarded sheet metal.
    National Geographic, 25 Feb. 2016
  • Many houses in the favelas are makeshift shacks of cardboard and discarded sheet metal.
    National Geographic, 25 Feb. 2016
  • The aggressive stop-and-search patrols, however, lasted only a few weeks — part of what the military called a blitz to gain a grip on the favela.
    Anthony Faiola and Marina Lopes, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2018
  • The single, which is a part of Da Rocinha 4, pays tribute to the largest favela in Brazil and highlights the birthplace of baile funk, one of Sango’s biggest influences.
    Kevin L. Clark, Essence, 20 Nov. 2020
  • Robson Luiz de Mendonca, 46, knows firsthand how life in a favela can consume loved ones.
    Washington Post, 28 June 2017
  • Michel Silva started a newspaper in the Rocinha favela.
    Mimi Whitefield, miamiherald, 17 Oct. 2017
  • After all, what does a single mother in a favela have in common with a Manhattan socialite?
    Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'favela.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: