as in unlawful
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable
an unrighteous act that cannot go unpunished by the congregation
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Recent Examples of unrighteous
Ivey recently described the LGBTQ community as unrighteous in a live stream from his Instagram account.
—
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2026
Ancient sacred writings teach us to avoid using unrighteous means to oppose the unrighteous demands of wicked rulers.
—Chris John Amorosino, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2026
Spears writes of these unrighteous men matter-of-factly, avoiding the ad hominem attack, except for an occasional delicious arrow, including a recollection of the eternally white Timberlake meeting one of his rap heroes.
—Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023
Christ himself suffered on account of sins, once for all, the righteous one on behalf of the unrighteous.
—Olivia Muenter, Woman's Day, 8 Feb. 2023
The millions who tune in to Carlson every night to get their outrage on should remember what their favorite host traffics in: bloviation, demagoguery and unrighteous indignation.
—Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2022
Many people, after all, think that the righteous should prosper and the unrighteous not.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 27 July 2021
He’s gone through buzzard-hot streaks and some slumps, at times taking wholly unrighteous shots, and none of that matters to the shooting guard.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 23 Apr. 2021
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 31 Mar. 2026
Ancient sacred writings teach us to avoid using unrighteous means to oppose the unrighteous demands of wicked rulers.
—Chris John Amorosino, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2026
Spears writes of these unrighteous men matter-of-factly, avoiding the ad hominem attack, except for an occasional delicious arrow, including a recollection of the eternally white Timberlake meeting one of his rap heroes.
—Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023
Christ himself suffered on account of sins, once for all, the righteous one on behalf of the unrighteous.
—Olivia Muenter, Woman's Day, 8 Feb. 2023
The millions who tune in to Carlson every night to get their outrage on should remember what their favorite host traffics in: bloviation, demagoguery and unrighteous indignation.
—Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2022
Many people, after all, think that the righteous should prosper and the unrighteous not.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 27 July 2021
He’s gone through buzzard-hot streaks and some slumps, at times taking wholly unrighteous shots, and none of that matters to the shooting guard.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 23 Apr. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unrighteous
Adjective
-
Multiple lawsuits from advocacy groups, Capitol police officers and others call the program unlawful and corrupt, as Congress presses acting Atty.—
Michael Kunzelman,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
-
Kelly's mother, Barbara Renner, is charged with manslaughter, and her daughter, Elyssa Seymore, is charged with unlawful imprisonment.—
Mahsa Saeidi,
CBS News,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
Players take on the role of one of four Vault Hunters searching for mythical vaults while trying to take on the planet’s immoral dictator.—
Sheena Vasani,
The Verge,
23 May 2026
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The government has suspended the platform several times, citing concerns that the app promotes immoral or unlawful content.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
There’s a strong sense that Feito’s novel got more mileage out of such questions as who is truly sane or insane and whether evil exists in all of us.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
-
The Gunslinger versus the evil Rancher (or space crime syndicate bosses, as the case may be).—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
Bowing down and worshiping an idol is sinful.—
Lauren Costantino,
Miami Herald,
12 May 2026
-
Efficiency is religion, and turnovers are almost sinful.—
Joel Lorenzi,
New York Times,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
Known for creating wicked political satires like Veep and The Thick of It, Iannucci is currently competing on Taskmaster.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
26 May 2026
-
Farrell was impressed by Ayala, who displayed a wicked slider and changed speeds.—
Steve Fryer,
Oc Register,
23 May 2026
Adjective
-
Her vicious block on Clark with seven minutes left nearly lifted the roof off the place.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
29 May 2026
-
Other cast members spoke on rising to new challenges in Season 2, including Paulina Chavez, whose character Ariana Medina survived a vicious assault in the penultimate episode.—
Kai Naima Williams,
Variety,
27 May 2026
Adjective
-
The abrupt shift into a more dramatic finale assumes an emotional connection to characters who may not be as outrageously vile as Duncan or Carl but who haven’t escaped the show’s jaundiced eye either.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
24 May 2026
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The comment sections beneath those videos were frequently vile.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
18 May 2026
Adjective
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There’s nothing worse than arriving at your destination only to realize your shoes were a terrible choice.—
Chaise Sanders,
Travel + Leisure,
25 May 2026
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Despite a weekend sweep of the Rangers, the Angels are tied for worst record in baseball and their fans are fed up with owner Arte Moreno’s leadership.—
Joaquin Ruiz,
Los Angeles Times,
25 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unrighteous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unrighteous. Accessed 30 May. 2026.
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