unhealthful
adjective
un·health·ful
ˌən-ˈhelth-fəl 
also -ˈheltth-
: harmful to health of body or mind : unhealthy sense 1
unhealthful levels of water pollution
an unhealthful diet
an unhealthful tendency to worry
Synonyms
Examples of unhealthful in a Sentence
the unhealthful level of smog in the city
Recent Examples on the Web
The grades are based on the number of days a county’s air reaches unhealthful levels when measuring ozone and particle pollution.
—
Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2024
Health professionals encourage people to use lean cuts of meat because most of the fat in animal products is unhealthful saturated fat, which can raise the risk of heart disease and cancer.
—Bethany Thayer, Detroit Free Press, 22 June 2024
With fire comes unhealthful smoke, which also threatens air quality for much of the U.S.
Wildfire smoke blankets much of the East
Many of the areas experiencing wildfire smoke will see moderate air quality for the next several days, according to the U.S. Air Quality Index.
—Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY, 21 June 2024
The map is color-coded to indicate whether the air is good, unhealthful or hazardous.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for unhealthful 
Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2024
Health professionals encourage people to use lean cuts of meat because most of the fat in animal products is unhealthful saturated fat, which can raise the risk of heart disease and cancer.
—Bethany Thayer, Detroit Free Press, 22 June 2024
With fire comes unhealthful smoke, which also threatens air quality for much of the U.S.
Wildfire smoke blankets much of the East
Many of the areas experiencing wildfire smoke will see moderate air quality for the next several days, according to the U.S. Air Quality Index.
—Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY, 21 June 2024
The map is color-coded to indicate whether the air is good, unhealthful or hazardous.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for unhealthful
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unhealthful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near unhealthful
Cite this Entry
“Unhealthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unhealthful. Accessed 12 Sep. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
unhealthful
adjective
un·health·ful
-ˈhelth-fəl
: detrimental to good health
unhealthful working conditions
unhealthfulness
noun
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