1
as in poisonous
bad for the well-being of the body
health inspectors shut down several food stands that were using tainted and unwholesome meat
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
despite having been raised in such unwholesome environments as a brothel and a traveling circus, singer Edith Piaf rose to international stardom
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of unwholesome
Their jail is strange and unwholesome.
—
Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
Grievous bodily harm, nonconsensual drugging, murder, yes…still, thank god there’s nothing unwholesome here, like say a man in a dress.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
The public, however, knew what to expect from this unwholesome mixture of politics and celebrity and didn’t tune in.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
But unlike Materialists, those movies—pictures like Leo McCarey’s The Awful Truth or Preston Sturges’ The Palm Beach Story—emerged in a time when Hollywood censors were keeping a close eye on movies’ ideology, determined to protect audiences from unwholesome influences.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 13 June 2025
By mid-afternoon the weather turned downright unwholesome.
—Arthur Grahame, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2025
Like its unwholesome protagonist, the film — and the roving camera of Vladislav Opelyants, shooting in gorgeously high-contrast black-and-white — is forever on the move, creating an immersive aesthetic experience that amounts to a big pile of nothing.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
As for the place, its veneer of comfortable tourism doesn’t hide the air of something unwholesome, especially when female guests start randomly throwing up.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2024
In celebration of her return, everyone from comedian Melissa McCarthy, who’s playing the conniving nemesis of King Triton, to film historians, are taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary drag queen who inspired Ursula’s unwholesome ways: Divine.
—Elaina Patton, NBC News, 26 May 2023
Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
Grievous bodily harm, nonconsensual drugging, murder, yes…still, thank god there’s nothing unwholesome here, like say a man in a dress.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
The public, however, knew what to expect from this unwholesome mixture of politics and celebrity and didn’t tune in.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
But unlike Materialists, those movies—pictures like Leo McCarey’s The Awful Truth or Preston Sturges’ The Palm Beach Story—emerged in a time when Hollywood censors were keeping a close eye on movies’ ideology, determined to protect audiences from unwholesome influences.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 13 June 2025
By mid-afternoon the weather turned downright unwholesome.
—Arthur Grahame, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2025
Like its unwholesome protagonist, the film — and the roving camera of Vladislav Opelyants, shooting in gorgeously high-contrast black-and-white — is forever on the move, creating an immersive aesthetic experience that amounts to a big pile of nothing.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
As for the place, its veneer of comfortable tourism doesn’t hide the air of something unwholesome, especially when female guests start randomly throwing up.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2024
In celebration of her return, everyone from comedian Melissa McCarthy, who’s playing the conniving nemesis of King Triton, to film historians, are taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary drag queen who inspired Ursula’s unwholesome ways: Divine.
—Elaina Patton, NBC News, 26 May 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwholesome
Adjective
-
Foxglove Foxglove features beautiful trumpet-like blossoms that are poisonous to cats.—
Amy DeYoung,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
-
Some have thorns or spines, others have poisonous leaves or berries, and still others have…elaborate chemical defense alarm systems?—
Regina G. Barber,
NPR,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Fujimori is linked to the authoritarian and corrupt legacy of the government of her late father, Alberto Fujimori, in the 1990s.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
-
Of course, all of this convenient acquiescence will sound familiar in the United States, where our own Congress and Department of Justice have been nothing if not servile to a brazenly corrupt executive.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
Onshore winds are pushing smoke from the Sandy fire into Los Angeles County, where neighborhoods from the San Fernando Valley to Arcadia could face unhealthful air for sensitive groups.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
-
The soil may contain pathogens, pesticides and other unhealthful things.—
Joan Morris,
Mercury News,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Even when degraded, enzymes have stable backbones that might be capable of catalyzing reactions, said Sudha Rajamani, an astrobiologist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune who wasn’t involved in the study.—
Siddhant Pusdekar,
Quanta Magazine,
1 June 2026
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According to the company, QTT enables highly secure and resilient position, navigation, and timing (PNT) services, helping maintain accurate timing and synchronization even when traditional GPS and radio-frequency signals are unavailable, degraded, or intentionally jammed.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
30 May 2026
Adjective
-
All parts of the plant are toxic if eaten.—
Tim Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2026
-
Prosecutors argued at trial that Shirilla drove into the building to end her toxic relationship with Russo, and that Flanagan was an unintended victim who happened to be in the car.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
One daycare worker had also called in sick that morning and another child was on the way.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
-
The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an investigation notice and public health advisory on Thursday, June 4, after eight people became sick across three states.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
Platform companies become unhealthy for any number of reasons.—
Louis Mosca,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
-
The weather service’s Chicago office in a post Tuesday to social media attributed the alert to unhealthy ozone levels and warned air quality is expected to be at unhealthy levels for sensitive groups.—
Tess Kenny,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
The company is challenging the county’s decision to award a contract to Oransi LLC for up to 30,000 portable air purifiers intended for residents affected by noxious gases emanating from the Tijuana River.—
Walker Armstrong,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 June 2026
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Israeli military strikes on Iranian oil infrastructure have sparked days-long conflagrations, releasing a plume of noxious sulflur dioxide over an area roughly the size of Italy.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unwholesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwholesome. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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