UNWHOLESOME Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

unwholesome

adjective

ˌən-ˈhōl-səm

Definition of unwholesome

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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwholesome

Adjective

With the throne disengaged from governance, petitions and reports from officials piled up unread, crucial state posts went unfilled, and the imperial bureaucracy splintered amid poisonous factional infighting.

— Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026
With this potential even more poisonous investments in the bloated and indebted Paramount behemoth, there’s even more reason to reject it.

— Abigail Disney, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of poisonous

Adjective

The national Democratic effort to defeat Collins kept going; now the party is spending millions on an ad hitting her for a ProPublica story about her links to a corrupt defense contractor.

— Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 6 Oct. 2026
For many voters, this view of Lula as corrupt is wrapped up with criticism of his economic policies and of the strong welfare state that the former union leader has come to embody.

— Constance Malleret, Christian Science Monitor, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of corrupt

Adjective

Warnings of unhealthful air quality remained in effect Saturday across a wide swath of the United States due to smoke from Canadian wildfires that has engulfed the Northeast in haze for days.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2026
The soil may contain pathogens, pesticides and other unhealthful things.

— Joan Morris, Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2026

Definition of unhealthful

Adjective

Design choices previously thought to boost power, such as widening the gap between electrodes, actually degraded performance under true operating conditions.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026
But detailed summaries of the punishments obtained by The New York Times provide the first look at how Cornell administrators apportioned blame for the alcohol and drug-fueled gathering that the woman has said left her shattered and degraded.

— Sharon Otterman, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of degraded

Adjective

As many have observed, and Republicans are somewhat ineffectually seeking to highlight, the post-Barack Obama Democratic Party has come to consist of little more than a toxic mixture of socialism, antisemitism and wokeness.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
Several years later, DeLay was the force driving Clinton’s impeachment and was simply too toxic to seek the speaker’s chair.

— Michael Tarm, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of toxic

Adjective

Along with missing guard Dru Smith (right calf strain) and two-way contract forward Keshad Johnson (right hamstring strain) for the second straight exhibition game, the Heat was also without guard Pelle Larsson (sick) on Thursday.

— Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026
Two types of influenza — A and B — are responsible for the seasonal flu epidemics that make people sick, according to the California Department of Public Health.

— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of sick

Adjective

Southern food may have a reputation for being heavy and unhealthy, but celebrity chef Tiffany Derry says that stereotype misses a big part of what's traditionally been served on tables across the South.

— Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
The company said its problems would not be solved by chasing unhealthy sales volume or short-term revenue.

— Ryan Baker, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of unhealthy

Adjective

Officers punched him, covered his face, poured a noxious liquid over him and threatened him with further abuse.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
Delphi sits above a geologic vent, an X from which noxious gases escaped the earth, corrupting the minds of women who inhaled and pronounced their prophecies.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of noxious

Browse Nearby Words

unwellness

unwholesome

unwieldy

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“Unwholesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwholesome. Accessed 13 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of unwholesome

adjective

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