1
as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
there's something unclean about this whole business
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2
as in filthy
not clean
a lackadaisical waiter who tried to set our table with smudged glasses and unclean silverware
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Recent Examples of unclean
For making the offensive suggestion that doctors’ hands might somehow be unclean, Semmelweis was denounced by the medical establishment and later lost his job.
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Pamela Paul, The Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2024
There’s a theme with her feeling shamed and unclean throughout the season.
—Olivia-Anne Cleary, TIME, 29 July 2024
Bero also cited how racist imagery and soap advertisements in the 1800s, including the notorious Pears’ Soap advertisements, depicted Black people as being dirty or unclean.
—L'oréal Blackett, refinery29.com, 23 Jan. 2024
If someone with asthma lives in an environment with pollution, secondhand smoke, mold, dust, or an unclean environment in general, that could be a trigger of their asthma.
—Claire Wolters, Verywell Health, 22 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for unclean 
Pamela Paul, The Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2024
There’s a theme with her feeling shamed and unclean throughout the season.
—Olivia-Anne Cleary, TIME, 29 July 2024
Bero also cited how racist imagery and soap advertisements in the 1800s, including the notorious Pears’ Soap advertisements, depicted Black people as being dirty or unclean.
—L'oréal Blackett, refinery29.com, 23 Jan. 2024
If someone with asthma lives in an environment with pollution, secondhand smoke, mold, dust, or an unclean environment in general, that could be a trigger of their asthma.
—Claire Wolters, Verywell Health, 22 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for unclean
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unclean
Adjective
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Not Arresting Trump | Opinion Instead of fostering violence or corrupt attempts at compromising the certification of election results, the post-election antics of the Republican party in North Carolina were quite peaceful.Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024
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The Emmy winner and Oscar nominee was among three dozen wealthy parents across the country who paid a corrupt college consultant tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to get their children fraudulently admitted to top schools by inflating test scores or fabricating athletic accomplishments.Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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They were packed in the ships’ holds in filthy conditions reminiscent of their initial arrival in North America, their prospects of freedom largely unchanged by the war.Kinsey Gidick, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Dec. 2024
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Don't let a little plumbing snafu make your dishwasher filthy.Jessica Farthing, Southern Living, 8 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The agency said Wednesday that the person was exposed to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks; this is the first US bird flu case linked to a backyard flock.Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN, 18 Dec. 2024
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The patient had been in contact with sick and dead birds in backyard flocks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.Mike Stobbe and Jonel Aleccia, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The dirty secret is that students don't want to take courses in neo-Marxist nonsense.Paul Du Quenoy, Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2024
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But this flavor swaps dirty diesel for a clean and quiet electric drivetrain built around a 74-kWh battery pack for more than 90 miles (150 km) of hauling over all kinds of challenging terrain.Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 9 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The novel stirred public outrage over the degraded state of the cathedral.Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, 6 Dec. 2024
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Bon first garnered attention with Not a Cornfield, a 2005-2006 work that took a 32-acre plot of land in downtown LA, and grew a full seasonal crop of corn, as a way to take a degraded unproductive piece of land and demonstrate its fecundity and potential for transformation.Tom Teicholz, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Small, personal attentions are dotted throughout the stay, such as tucking in a teddy, proactively repairing an earring’s closing mechanism, rejuvenating dusty trainers after a day of exploration, or bringing in canapés the guest visibly enjoyed at dinner as a mid-day snack.Angelina Villa-Clarke, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
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And some days, its dusty air carries the stench of the polluted Salton Sea eight miles west.Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 17 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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In its time open, fueled by fans of its blackened mahi and buttery lobster rolls, owner Mike Smith has expanded his footprint, moving into a larger stall in the popular food hall — which has allowed for a menu expansion, as well.Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 6 Dec. 2022
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There are no glamorous furnishings — just a French window, its blackened panes suggesting the dark of night.Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2022
Adjective
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At the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, heavy rains—likely influenced by the volcanic disruptions—turned the battlefield into a muddy quagmire, delaying Napoleon's attacks and aiding the Allied forces' eventual victory.Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Dec. 2024
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But in the Northeast and Midwest, that research points to a less concrete loss, of ice fishing and pond skating and dogsledding, and other parts of life that just aren’t as possible in a sopping wet, muddy winter.Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Unclean.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unclean. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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