Synonyms of salutary

salutary

adjective

ˈsal-yə-ˌter-ē 

1

as in beneficial

promoting or contributing to personal or social well-being

the low interest rates should have a salutary effect on business

Synonyms & Similar Words

• beneficial
• favorable
• helpful
• good
• profitable
• satisfying
• advantageous
• beneficent
• desirable
• friendly
• kindly
• benignant
• gratifying
• benefic
• rewarding
• propitious
• promising
• lucrative
• healthful
• advisable
• auspicious
• healthy
• wholesome
• salubrious
• remunerative
• constructive
• supportive
• gainful
• ameliorative
• salutiferous
• amelioratory
• bettering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• bad
• unfavorable
• disadvantageous
• unprofitable
• unfriendly
• unhelpful
• injurious
• harmful
• deleterious
• damaging
• insalubrious

2

as in healthy

good for the health

increasing scientific evidence that a glass of wine a day is quite salutary

Synonyms & Similar Words

• healthy
• good
• medicinal
• healthful
• salubrious
• nutritional
• wholesome
• restorative
• tonic
• sanative
• refreshing
• useful
• remedial
• curative
• corrective
• advantageous
• salutiferous
• rehabilitative
• sanitary
• recuperative
• hygienic
• alleviative
• antiseptic
• clean
• nourishing
• rejuvenating
• nutritious
• aseptic
• rejuvenescent
• nontoxic
• nonpoisonous

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• harmful
• injurious
• pernicious
• noxious
• deleterious
• unwholesome
• damaging
• unhealthy
• toxic
• unhealthful
• infectious
• poisonous
• insalubrious
• sickening
• insanitary
• unsanitary
• unhygienic

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective salutary contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of salutary are healthful, salubrious, and wholesome. While all these words mean "favorable to the health of mind or body," salutary describes something corrective or beneficially effective, even though it may in itself be unpleasant.

a salutary warning that resulted in increased production

When could healthful be used to replace salutary?

The synonyms healthful and salutary are sometimes interchangeable, but healthful implies a positive contribution to a healthy condition.

a healthful diet

When might salubrious be a better fit than salutary?

While in some cases nearly identical to salutary, salubrious applies chiefly to the helpful effects of climate or air.

cool and salubrious weather

In what contexts can wholesome take the place of salutary?

The words wholesome and salutary can be used in similar contexts, but wholesome applies to what benefits, builds up, or sustains physically, mentally, or spiritually.

wholesome foods

the movie is wholesome family entertainment

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of salutary

To some analysts, that difference is a tribute to the flexibility of Britain’s parliamentary government and a salutary distinction between Britain and the United States. —Mark Landler, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2025

Some of history’s most salutary technologies—telephones, automobiles, antibiotics, international jet travel, the personal computer—bent society’s productivity and wealth curves upward. —Rich Karlgaard, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025

While that may be hard to enforce, the goal is salutary. —The Editors, National Review, 25 Mar. 2025

Whether Friday’s sharp intraday wobble on some tariff headlines was a sign that these salutary factors are losing their hold on the market is just one crucial question awaiting investors in February. —Michael Santoli, CNBC, 1 Feb. 2025