INSALUBRIOUS Synonyms: 21 Similar and Opposite Words

insalubrious

adjective

ˌin-sə-ˈlü-brē-əs

Definition of insalubrious

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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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 insalubrious 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 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

But major questions remained about how much space exists inside the Earth to store the CO2, how effectively it could be monitored and whether the poisonous, concentrated gas would reliably stay underground.

— Katie Worth, ProPublica, 30 Oct. 2026
Mirroring the poisonous arena featured in the movie, Grace paired her vibrant, beaded Almée Couture gown with a high ponytail, leaving her blond bangs out to frame her face.

— Arushi Jacob, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of poisonous

Adjective

Warnings of unhealthful air quality remained in effect Saturday across a wide swath of the United States due to smoke from Canadian wildfires that has engulfed the Northeast in haze for days.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2026
The soil may contain pathogens, pesticides and other unhealthful things.

— Joan Morris, Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2026

Definition of unhealthful

Adjective

Gill and Krukoff separately pushed their way into Indigenous communities, bribing or cajoling elders to forage vines and process toxic plant compounds known as curare.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
Concern over plastic in the kitchen and its affects on the endocrine system has been growing for the past few years, Nathan said, referencing a viral article that linked black plastics in the kitchen to alarming levels of toxic flame retardants.

— Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of toxic

Adjective

Two Mason jars, apparently filled with a noxious liquid, had been tossed through a window.

— Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2026
The council member has spent significant time in Boyle Heights following the Lineage fire, which burned down a massive cold food storage facility, sending noxious smoke into the heavily Latino neighborhood.

— Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2026

Definition of noxious

Adjective

The color is red velvet; the sound brims with sickly pulses and crocodile-teeth percussion; the playwright is a cross between Charlie Kaufman and Muse.

— Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 29 Oct. 2026
After wallowing unbought with her fellow robots in a gloomy city storefront, Klara is finally purchased by a sickly young girl, Josie (Mia Tharia), and her dominant mother, Chrissy (Amy Adams).

— Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2026

Definition of sickly

Adjective

The show is about inequality, the trauma of puberty, and unhealthy family dynamics.

— Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2026
But in the meantime, fighting for people’s health against industrial pollution of America’s air and water or pumping out unhealthy food has not been the defining rallying cry for the party in recent years.

— Brinda Adhikari, STAT, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of unhealthy

Adjective

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
The company admitted that by January 2021 some employees were aware that the insanitary conditions were causing products to become contaminated.

— Kate Gibson, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2024

Definition of insanitary

Browse Nearby Words

ins

insalubrious

ins and outs

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“Insalubrious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insalubrious. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of insalubrious

adjective

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