as in poisonous
bad for the well-being of the body
after inhaling the insalubrious city smog for a month, I was happy to once again breathe in the fresh air of the country
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Recent Examples of insalubrious
Two figures, Gavin Williamson, the education secretary who has blown hot and cold over whether children can go back to school, and Robert Jenrick, the local-government minister, who is entangled in a scandal with an insalubrious party donor, look particularly dismal.
—
The Economist, 20 June 2020
The refuse rising in insalubrious piles, some taller than the pedestrians trying to avoid them, is a smelly, visceral symbol of popular outrage at the government’s plan.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2023
Many of the area's most insalubrious haunts are long gone, and in their place mostly restaurants, which come and go.
—Tom Page, CNN, 30 Jan. 2023
Exercise enjoys a health halo, justifying, for some of us, insalubrious habits.
—Gretchen Reynolds, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Jan. 2023
In letters sent to the regional authorities in the early 1950s and seen by The New York Times, the nuns warned about a lack of food, and the insalubrious dormitory and canteen.
—New York Times, 3 Nov. 2021
On the site of an important 19th-century water mill, in a somewhat insalubrious part of town, is a modest looking Mosque with a beautiful new artwork.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2021
The Economist, 20 June 2020
The refuse rising in insalubrious piles, some taller than the pedestrians trying to avoid them, is a smelly, visceral symbol of popular outrage at the government’s plan.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2023
Many of the area's most insalubrious haunts are long gone, and in their place mostly restaurants, which come and go.
—Tom Page, CNN, 30 Jan. 2023
Exercise enjoys a health halo, justifying, for some of us, insalubrious habits.
—Gretchen Reynolds, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Jan. 2023
In letters sent to the regional authorities in the early 1950s and seen by The New York Times, the nuns warned about a lack of food, and the insalubrious dormitory and canteen.
—New York Times, 3 Nov. 2021
On the site of an important 19th-century water mill, in a somewhat insalubrious part of town, is a modest looking Mosque with a beautiful new artwork.
—Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 3 Sep. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insalubrious
Adjective
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If touched, the toad’s poisonous glands emit toxins that can be rapidly absorbed in your dog’s bloodstream and kill her quickly.—
Lois K. Solomon,
Sun Sentinel,
8 Aug. 2025
-
While every season is different depending on the location, some of the past challenges have included walking across a tightrope over a cliff, rescuing themselves from a sinking car and invading a crate filled with poisonous gases and chemicals.—
Caroline Blair,
People.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The change comes amid concerns about fireworks causing unhealthful air.—
Rong-Gong Lin II,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
-
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
Adjective
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This is significant because melittin alone is highly toxic and can damage healthy tissues if not carefully controlled.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Aug. 2025
-
In other news: Pollution: The Louisville formaldehyde plant bordering a residential neighborhood will have two additional years to comply with toxic air emission rules.—
Leo Bertucci,
The Courier-Journal,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
But unlike Materialists, those movies—pictures like Leo McCarey’s The Awful Truth or Preston Sturges’ The Palm Beach Story—emerged in a time when Hollywood censors were keeping a close eye on movies’ ideology, determined to protect audiences from unwholesome influences.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
13 June 2025
-
By mid-afternoon the weather turned downright unwholesome.—
Arthur Grahame,
Outdoor Life,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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The activists worry the line will harm birds and that construction and maintenance crews driving through the transmission line corridor will carry in noxious weeds and invasive species.—
Tony Schick,
ProPublica,
14 Aug. 2025
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After a final sequence of emergences and contractions, the ciliate eventually got fed up, pulled up stakes and swam away, presumably looking for a less noxious place to settle down.—
Claire L. Evans,
Quanta Magazine,
30 July 2025
Adjective
-
Séamus McLean Ross costars on Blood of My Blood as a young Colum MacKenzie, the sickly brother of Ellen and Dougal, who goes on to become laird of the clan.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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Once infected, the plant will become sickly and die within 3-5 years.—
Laura Simpson,
Oc Register,
8 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Borgman chronicles how the show focused on entertainment over health and how contestants were belittled and encouraged to follow unhealthy weight loss methods, including consuming caffeine pills.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
15 Aug. 2025
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In particular, lawsuits have alleged that child users with developmental disabilities and mental health issues have formed unhealthy attachments to chatbots that have influenced the children to become violent, begin self-harming, or, in one disturbing case, die by suicide.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Employees were observed to only sanitize their gloved hands after touching insanitary surfaces and then resumed touching RTE food and various food contact surfaces.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
12 Jan. 2025
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In a civil complaint filed Sept. 27 in federal court, authorities allege that Rizo Lopez Foods violated the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act at the company’s facility in Modesto by manufacturing and distributing food products that have been prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Insalubrious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insalubrious. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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