How to Use scurvy in a Sentence
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On top of that, scurvy was beginning to ravage the men.
—Julian Sancton, Time, 12 May 2021
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Because looking for a black or tan knife on the ground can be as much fun as a case of scurvy.
—Matt Foster, Outdoor Life, 31 Jan. 2020
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Britain’s soldiers and sailors died by the hundreds from yellow fever and scurvy.
—Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2021
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As the crew forged across the Pacific Ocean, food spoiled and scurvy and starvation struck.
—Erin Blakemore, National Geographic, 19 Sep. 2019
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Early in 2001, scurvy broke out in western Afghanistan.
—Steve Coll, The New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2021
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For all who were able to stomach them, penguin and seal steaks reversed the effects of scurvy.
—Julian Sancton, Time, 12 May 2021
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To Heidl, the bankers and politicians are the real scoundrels, scurvy in their double-dealing and greed.
—William Giraldi, Philly.com, 6 Apr. 2018
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In the Russian camps, people got sick with scurvy, from a lack of vitamins.
—Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 30 Apr. 2018
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The bad guys are all those scurvy, nature-tampering humans.
—Peter Rainer, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 June 2018
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The conversation leads to Claire, who taught Jamie that eating greens prevents scurvy.
—Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, 25 Sep. 2017
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At the least, the air would have been less toxic, and there might have been lower mortality rates from scurvy, dysentery and typhus.
—A. Roger Ekirch, WSJ, 22 Aug. 2017
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Looking at the jaw, the team saw very strong signs that Louis suffered from a bad case of scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C in the diet that attacks the gums and bones.
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 26 June 2019
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Jeff, too, is dragged down that path, transforming from a sweet underachiever (who once had scurvy) to a vengeful husk — and then back again.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2018
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Drag privation out long enough, and scurvy’s victims are stripped of their ability to learn and feel and remember.
—Bathsheba Demuth, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2021
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To that mix was added the daily dose of lime and some sugar–although the connection between citrus and scurvy wasn’t formalized for more than 50 years.
—Kat Eschner, Smithsonian, 31 July 2017
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The researchers say that contemporary accounts of Louis’s demise recount the king spitting out bits of gum and teeth, consistent with what was found in the mandible and signs of late-stage scurvy.
—Jason Daley, Smithsonian, 26 June 2019
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Versions of it were savoured by ancient Romans and Seljuk sultans alike; Joan of Arc ate one for courage before battles; sailors stockpiled it to combat scurvy.
—The Economist, 13 June 2020
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Still, it’s commonly agreed that skipping vegetables for an extended length of time can cause scurvy — or at least a creeping sense of guilt.
—Elisa Ludwig, Philly.com, 8 Feb. 2018
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The diet of mainly meat and starch frequently resulted in ailments like rickets and scurvy.
—Neil Irwin, New York Times, 13 May 2016
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The crew experienced bloody battles with bears, the stench of scurvy, and the dispiriting blackness of the polar winter and their struggle with hunger as supplies dwindled.
—Richard Schiffman, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Jan. 2021
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Problem is, China has stockpiled all the nutrients, and the U.S., highly deficient, has the equivalent of scurvy.
—Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 12 Jan. 2020
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The lime juice on its own would have significantly prevented scurvy and dysentery.
—Brenda Cain, cleveland.com, 8 June 2017
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My approach is bare-bones: Bring enough to last roughly four days, patronize the occasional drive-thru, contract scurvy.
—Sandra Upson, Wired, 31 Oct. 2020
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Three men went for help by dogsled over the ocean ice, some 100 miles south to Siberia, leaving Blackjack on her own to care for the remaining expedition member, Lorne Knight, who was bedridden with scurvy.
—Kate Siber, Outside Online, 18 Jan. 2018
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Aisha developed scurvy-like symptoms, and was beginning to lose three teeth after months of poor nutrition.
—Natalie Musumeci, Fox News, 1 May 2021
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As the beer began to run out during the Mayflower voyage of 1620, for example, passengers began to exhibit signs of scurvy.
—John Perritano, Popular Mechanics, 25 June 2013
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Miner’s lettuce got its common name because the 49er gold miners discovered that eating the vitamin C-rich plant helped avoid scurvy.
—Rebecca Parr, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2017
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Once treated, there is usually no permanent damage due to scurvy, except in the case of severe dental disease.
—Leah Groth, Health.com, 20 Aug. 2020
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Researchers found no signs of rickets, scurvy or anemia—diseases caused by nutrient deficiencies that can warp the skeleton.
—Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 July 2020
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Battered by storms and racing to find their way back to Siberia after sighting Alaska, the scurvy-ridden crewmen were dying in their bunks while the ship's commander, Vitus Bering, barely clung to life himself.
—Anchorage Daily News, 17 Mar. 2018
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Like scurvy, beriberi can be found in people who lack fresh food.
—Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 May 2021
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If left unchecked, scurvy leads to teeth falling out, severe pain and death.
—David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2022
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During the 18th century, more British soldiers died from scurvy than in battle.
—David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2022
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Listen to the full interview below (scurvy segment begins around the 8:30-mark).
—Rachel Yang, EW.com, 20 Aug. 2020
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Without it, scurvy develops, and hair, gums, skin, muscles and bones all start to unravel.
—John J. Ross, WSJ, 30 Oct. 2020
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Most people don’t worry too much about rickets, goiters or scurvy in North America these days.
—Scott Lear, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2019
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The oils in caribou, fish, walrus, seal, and other meats the Inuit ate contain enough vitamin c for humans to keep scurvy at bay, as long as they’re not overcooked.
—Julian Sancton, Time, 12 May 2021
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Astronauts going to space might confront a problem that bedeviled sailors of centuries past: scurvy.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 9 Apr. 2021
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Smallpox was six to seven times more prevalent among black soldiers than white, scurvy was five times higher, while lung inflammation and bronchial diseases were two to five times higher.
—Ilene Raymond Rush, Philly.com, 22 Mar. 2018
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Though vitamin C wouldn’t be discovered until the 20th century, naval doctors only knew that daily rations of lemon or lime juice helped to curb scurvy symptoms.
—Kevin Hopper, idahostatesman, 13 June 2017
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Of all the horrors of a 19th-century European voyage to the Arctic—noses and cheeks turned necrotic by frostbite, snow blindness, sea madness, broken bones badly knit—perhaps most ghastly was scurvy.
—Bathsheba Demuth, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2021
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For polar explorers, the most common malady wasn’t scurvy or starvation.
—David James, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Sep. 2020
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His men were also the first group of Europeans known to have become trapped by ice and forced to spend a harrowing winter far above the Arctic Circle, beset by extreme weather, scurvy and repeated polar bear attacks.
—David James, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2022
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Left untreated, scurvy, the vitamin C deficiency that plagued sailors for centuries, can eventually cause osteoporosis in some places and unusual bone growth in others.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 6 July 2020
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King and his colleagues isolated a crystalline substance, identified and later synthesized vitamin C, leading to new ways to prevent related diseases, such as scurvy.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2022
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Like scurvy, beriberi can be found in people who lack fresh food.
—Livia Gershon, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 May 2021
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If left unchecked, scurvy leads to teeth falling out, severe pain and death.
—David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2022
-
During the 18th century, more British soldiers died from scurvy than in battle.
—David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 12 June 2022
-
Listen to the full interview below (scurvy segment begins around the 8:30-mark).
—Rachel Yang, EW.com, 20 Aug. 2020
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Without it, scurvy develops, and hair, gums, skin, muscles and bones all start to unravel.
—John J. Ross, WSJ, 30 Oct. 2020
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Most people don’t worry too much about rickets, goiters or scurvy in North America these days.
—Scott Lear, Discover Magazine, 11 Oct. 2019
-
The oils in caribou, fish, walrus, seal, and other meats the Inuit ate contain enough vitamin c for humans to keep scurvy at bay, as long as they’re not overcooked.
—Julian Sancton, Time, 12 May 2021
-
Astronauts going to space might confront a problem that bedeviled sailors of centuries past: scurvy.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 9 Apr. 2021
-
Smallpox was six to seven times more prevalent among black soldiers than white, scurvy was five times higher, while lung inflammation and bronchial diseases were two to five times higher.
—Ilene Raymond Rush, Philly.com, 22 Mar. 2018
-
Though vitamin C wouldn’t be discovered until the 20th century, naval doctors only knew that daily rations of lemon or lime juice helped to curb scurvy symptoms.
—Kevin Hopper, idahostatesman, 13 June 2017
-
Of all the horrors of a 19th-century European voyage to the Arctic—noses and cheeks turned necrotic by frostbite, snow blindness, sea madness, broken bones badly knit—perhaps most ghastly was scurvy.
—Bathsheba Demuth, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2021
-
For polar explorers, the most common malady wasn’t scurvy or starvation.
—David James, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Sep. 2020
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His men were also the first group of Europeans known to have become trapped by ice and forced to spend a harrowing winter far above the Arctic Circle, beset by extreme weather, scurvy and repeated polar bear attacks.
—David James, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2022
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Left untreated, scurvy, the vitamin C deficiency that plagued sailors for centuries, can eventually cause osteoporosis in some places and unusual bone growth in others.
—Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, 6 July 2020
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King and his colleagues isolated a crystalline substance, identified and later synthesized vitamin C, leading to new ways to prevent related diseases, such as scurvy.
—Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2022
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scurvy.' 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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