Definition of healthynext
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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 Instead, the best of James Harden, Ivica Zubac and a finally healthy Kawhi Leonard has been flushed. Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026 Parents should show their child another way to behave and show their emotions in a healthy manner when conflict erupts. Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Feb. 2026 For those asking whether the Heat would prioritize minutes for its young players after Thursday’s silent trade deadline, 19-year-old guard Kasparas Jakucionis did not play on Friday despite being healthy and in uniform. Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 7 Feb. 2026 That’s what sports have always been about for Freed, who seems to possess an idyllically healthy relationship with competition. Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for healthy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for healthy
Adjective
  • Last week, Spurs beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 at home and all was well with the world.
    Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Oliver says often that the shoot was a really well execution of the script.
    Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, makeup artists think spring breakers will pack their best cushion-y, cloud lips instead of their icy alternatives.
    Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Kansas City figured its best sales pitch centered on its facilities and its location in the heart of America.
    Sam McDowell Updated February 13, Kansas City Star, 13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • During last year’s outbreak in Texas, there was a substantial proportion of cases in adults older than 20, Moss says.
    Elizabeth Yuko, Rolling Stone, 7 Feb. 2026
  • During that hearing, BGE lobbyist Brittany Jones indicated that a substantial number of the company’s employees could come under the purview of the bill, because its broad definition of compensation included not only wages, but bonuses and other benefits.
    Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • The shopping center is in the heart of one of the country’s most thriving commercial areas.
    Judith Kohler, Denver Post, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Underlying the circulation of Proust’s work in post-independence Ireland was a network of literary salons (including regular gatherings at Devenport O’Neill’s home) and little magazines along with thriving modern-language departments in the nation’s universities.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Oakland’s council has swung in a less activist-friendly political direction this past year, awarding robust police surveillance contracts and entertaining more aggressive policies around clearing homeless encampments.
    Shomik Mukherjee, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Years of disinvestment, inconsistent arts funding and bureaucratic contracting delays have hollowed out the robust infrastructure that allows these artists to educate fellow New Yorkers.
    Kimberly Olsen, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • There are healthful ways to incorporate any of them.
    Madeline Holcombe, CNN Money, 9 Feb. 2026
  • Packed with fiber and two types of chocolate, these rich, fudgy brownies are a wholesome, healthful chocolate-lover’s dream.
    Virginia Willis, AJC.com, 8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • While Bad Bunny’s performance had the advantage of being live at the game, Turning Point’s show brought in a sizable number of streamers.
    Zach LaChance, The Washington Examiner, 9 Feb. 2026
  • That’s a sizable investment in a pitcher who projects as a back-of-the-rotation arm and who is coming off an entire year lost to Tommy John surgery.
    Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Even in the best of times, the film’s main characters weren’t prosperous.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
  • These and thousands of other BLS statistics describe a society that has grown more prosperous, and a workforce endlessly adaptive to change.
    Josh Tyrangiel, The Atlantic, 10 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Healthy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/healthy. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.

More from Merriam-Webster on healthy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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