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a healthy diet
a nutritious diet
a balanced diet
a beneficial diet
a proper diet
a good diet
a healthy economy
a strong economy
a stable economy
a balanced economy
a sturdy economy
a sustainable economy
healthy life
active life
happy life
a healthy environment
a sustainable environment
a positive environment
a helpful environment
a safe environment
a beneficial environment

Synonym Chooser

How is the word healthy distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of healthy are hale, robust, sound, well, and wholesome. While all these words mean "enjoying or indicative of good health," healthy implies full strength and vigor as well as freedom from signs of disease.

a healthy family

Where would hale be a reasonable alternative to healthy?

While in some cases nearly identical to healthy, hale applies particularly to robustness in old age.

still hale at the age of eighty

When is robust a more appropriate choice than healthy?

While the synonyms robust and healthy are close in meaning, robust implies the opposite of all that is delicate or sickly.

a lively, robust little boy

When might sound be a better fit than healthy?

Although the words sound and healthy have much in common, sound emphasizes the absence of disease, weakness, or malfunction.

a sound heart

When would well be a good substitute for healthy?

The words well and healthy can be used in similar contexts, but well implies merely freedom from disease or illness.

she has never been a well person

In what contexts can wholesome take the place of healthy?

The meanings of wholesome and healthy largely overlap; however, wholesome implies appearance and behavior indicating soundness and balance.

a face with a wholesome glow

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 healthy Assuming Landeskog can stay healthy and Valeri Nichushkin’s off-ice troubles are far in the rear-view mirror, the Avs could have the best top-six in the NHL next year. Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 13 June 2025 However, when Abreu is healthy, the Red Sox will have Abreu, Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Jarren Duran. Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 June 2025 Rethinking Diets for Different Bodies While the participants were all relatively healthy, the researchers are curious to see how methanogen activity might impact people with different health conditions. Jenny Lehmann, Discover Magazine, 13 June 2025 But those findings apply to small-by-design campuses with healthy enrollments, not schools that have shrunk dramatically as families have moved away. Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 13 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for healthy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for healthy
Adjective
  • Crockpots are still made well, as are, in my experience anyway, the more modernized version: Instant Pots.
    Parker Hall, WIRED, 2 Feb. 2025
  • The witch’s magic is still MIA, but her attitude is well and truly back.
    Alison Herman, Variety, 19 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • Then, Bennett, the Panthers best player these playoffs, took a tripping penalty behind the play coming out of the offensive zone.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 13 June 2025
  • As good as Trachtenberg is at keeping secrets, this particular one seems unlikely.
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 June 2025
Adjective
  • Health insurers - losers The bill includes substantial funding cuts for the U.S. Medicaid program, with fiscal hawks pushing for cuts to partly offset the cost of the bill's tax components.
    Shashwat Chauhan, USA Today, 7 June 2025
  • The bill could undergo substantial changes as the legislative process continues.
    Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Adjective
  • This includes tech startups like Queen One, which just signed a 10-year lease for its new headquarters in Williamsburg, joining a thriving innovation ecosystem in Brooklyn and contributing to New York City’s status as the applied AI capital of the world.
    Adolfo Carrión Jr, New York Daily News, 8 June 2025
  • Once a thriving port city, Ephesus is thought to have been originally settled around 1200 BCE, towards the end of the Bronze age.
    Michael Goldstein, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025
Adjective
  • The airport has implemented a robust circular economy program, focusing on materials recovery and reducing single-use plastics.
    Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 14 June 2025
  • The Abrams carries a 120mm cannon, robust armor and has a top speed of 45 mph.
    Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today, 14 June 2025
Adjective
  • In that case, a state court ruled that Montana had violated young residents’ constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by promoting fossil fuel development.
    Monica Sanders, Forbes.com, 1 June 2025
  • For example, a suit in Montana targeted the state for failing to provide its residents with a healthful environment.
    John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Here’s a thought: Several big-time football schools have abandoned open spring football games, which used to be a sizable event attracting fans and alums to campus, to protect players from being scouted and poached in the transfer portal.
    Russell Dinkins, Sportico.com, 10 June 2025
  • But there’s a sizable contingent of old media players including David Zaslav, fresh from announcing plans to split Warner Bros. Discovery in two, as well as Comcast’s Brian Roberts, who is already enmeshed in spinning off his own underperforming cable properties at NBCUniversal.
    Matt Donnelly, Variety, 10 June 2025
Adjective
  • The back half of Barbarian takes us back to 1981, a more prosperous time for the neighborhood.
    Randall Colburn, EW.com, 1 June 2025
  • Keep in mind the child has time on his/her side to pay for the loan, save for retirement and enjoy an overall prosperous life, while the parent will run out of time much sooner to pay for retirement.
    David Kudla, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Healthy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/healthy. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on healthy

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