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
Examples of unhealthful in a Sentence
the unhealthful level of smog in the city
Recent Examples on the Web
The change comes amid concerns about fireworks causing unhealthful air.
—
Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
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 unhealthful effects of autocracy remain robust even when accounting for economic differences and when excluding Venezuela and its collapsing health-care system.
—Thomas J. Bollyky, Foreign Affairs, 30 Jan. 2020
See All Example Sentences for unhealthful
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.
Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025
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 unhealthful effects of autocracy remain robust even when accounting for economic differences and when excluding Venezuela and its collapsing health-care system.
—Thomas J. Bollyky, Foreign Affairs, 30 Jan. 2020
See All Example Sentences for unhealthful
Cite this Entry
“Unhealthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unhealthful. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
unhealthful
adjective
un·health·ful
-ˈhelth-fəl
: detrimental to good health
unhealthful working conditions
unhealthfulness
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share