Main Entry:

healthy

Pronunciation:

\ˈhel-thē also ˈhelt-\

Function:

adjective

Inflected Form(s):

health·i·er; health·i·est

Date:

1552

1: enjoying health and vigor of body, mind, or spirit : well2: evincing health <a healthy complexion>3: conducive to health <walk three miles every day…a beastly bore, but healthy — G. S. Patton>4 a: prosperous, flourishing b: not small or feeble : considerable

— health·i·ly \-thə-lē\ adverb

— health·i·ness \-thē-nəs\ noun

synonyms healthy, sound, wholesome, robust, hale, well mean enjoying or indicative of good health. healthy implies full strength and vigor as well as freedom from signs of disease <a healthy family>. sound emphasizes the absence of disease, weakness, or malfunction <a sound heart>. wholesome implies appearance and behavior indicating soundness and balance <a face with a wholesome glow>. robust implies the opposite of all that is delicate or sickly <a lively, robust little boy>. hale applies particularly to robustness in old age <still hale at the age of eighty>. well implies merely freedom from disease or illness <she has never been a well person>.