How to Use favela in a Sentence

favela

noun
  • One of the dead was a police officer, the rest lived in the favela.
    — David Miranda, Time, 8 May 2021
  • Six hundred more signed up for space on an empty field beside a favela.
    — Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 25 June 2021
  • 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
  • Drug gangs in the favelas and militia groups led by rogue ex-police regained ground.
    — The Economist, 3 Sep. 2019
  • Shoot-outs in favelas, or shantytowns, have killed dozens of people.
    — The Economist, 5 Oct. 2017
  • There's also the time he got lost in a favela in Brazil with a carful of German fans.
    — Wendy Grossman Kantor, PEOPLE, 11 June 2026
  • Baracho, 49, grew up just outside the favela, playing pick-up soccer on its dirt fields.
    — David Biller, Star Tribune, 10 Nov. 2020
  • Jesus grew up in a Sao Paulo favela, and joined Palmeiras’ youth program as a pre-teen.
    — Michelle Kaufman, miamiherald, 25 May 2018
  • Shampoo grew up in Vila do Ipsep, a favela in Recife.
    — Jack Lang, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025
  • The arrival of the first formal public transit was supposed to transform the favela.
    — Wired, 2 Oct. 2019
  • People crowded into slums, shantytowns and favelas from where they were hard put to reach jobs.
    — The Economist, 5 Apr. 2018
  • 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
  • The soccer fans have had to at least once interrupt a game due to a police operation in the favela.
    — ABC News, 4 June 2026
  • 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
  • Her last post on Twitter called attention to the murder of a young favela resident.
    — Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2018
  • 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
  • He's lived his entire life in this favela — a word that refers to a native Brazilian shrub — and has been gardening just as long.
    — Jill Langlois, NPR, 25 Jan. 2025
  • After all, what does a single mother in a favela have in common with a Manhattan socialite?
    — Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2021
  • Since then, 52 people have been killed in the favela and an additional 10 injured.
    — Jill Langlois, latimes.com, 26 Mar. 2018
  • Paulo Roberto Nunes, 52, sells peanuts in Rocinha, Rio's largest favela.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 2 Apr. 2020
  • She was born in Moça Bonita, an impoverished favela in Rio de Janeiro.
    — Giovanni Russonello, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2017
  • So does the bass-heavy genre baile funk, which emerged out of the city’s favelas before going global in the early 2000s.
    — Carolina Abbott Galvão, Travel + Leisure, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Career fairs were scheduled for the day after the deadly operation in the Rio favelas.
    — Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Video published by Reuters on Tuesday showed huge columns of black smoke emerging from the Alemão favela during the raid.
    — Gonzalo Zegarra, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025
  • 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
  • From my balcony, the golden sands of Copacabana, sounds of samba, and neighboring favelas seemed so close and far all at once.
    — Kristin Braswell, Travel + Leisure, 29 June 2024
  • 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
  • Advocates say the approach needs support beyond the self-reliance of the favela residents themselves.
    — Troy Aidan Sambajon, Christian Science Monitor, 17 Mar. 2025
  • Last year, an operation in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas left more than 120 people dead.
    — ABC News, 28 May 2026

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.

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