1
as in poisonous
bad for the well-being of the body
health inspectors shut down several food stands that were using tainted and unwholesome meat
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
despite having been raised in such unwholesome environments as a brothel and a traveling circus, singer Edith Piaf rose to international stardom
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of unwholesome
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
Like its unwholesome protagonist, the film — and the roving camera of Vladislav Opelyants, shooting in gorgeously high-contrast black-and-white — is forever on the move, creating an immersive aesthetic experience that amounts to a big pile of nothing.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
As for the place, its veneer of comfortable tourism doesn’t hide the air of something unwholesome, especially when female guests start randomly throwing up.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2024
In celebration of her return, everyone from comedian Melissa McCarthy, who’s playing the conniving nemesis of King Triton, to film historians, are taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary drag queen who inspired Ursula’s unwholesome ways: Divine.
—Elaina Patton, NBC News, 26 May 2023
There was something indefinably unwholesome about him.
—Ian McEwan, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
This syndrome originally surfaced in 1926, when residents of Haverhill, Massachusetts drank unwholesome milk and suffered soaring temps, aching joints, and skin lesions ranging from flat, red spots to papules, pustules, and blisters—the same telltale features earlier linked to bites.
—Claire Panosian Dunavan, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2018
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 13 June 2025
By mid-afternoon the weather turned downright unwholesome.
—Arthur Grahame, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2025
Like its unwholesome protagonist, the film — and the roving camera of Vladislav Opelyants, shooting in gorgeously high-contrast black-and-white — is forever on the move, creating an immersive aesthetic experience that amounts to a big pile of nothing.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
As for the place, its veneer of comfortable tourism doesn’t hide the air of something unwholesome, especially when female guests start randomly throwing up.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2024
In celebration of her return, everyone from comedian Melissa McCarthy, who’s playing the conniving nemesis of King Triton, to film historians, are taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary drag queen who inspired Ursula’s unwholesome ways: Divine.
—Elaina Patton, NBC News, 26 May 2023
There was something indefinably unwholesome about him.
—Ian McEwan, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
This syndrome originally surfaced in 1926, when residents of Haverhill, Massachusetts drank unwholesome milk and suffered soaring temps, aching joints, and skin lesions ranging from flat, red spots to papules, pustules, and blisters—the same telltale features earlier linked to bites.
—Claire Panosian Dunavan, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwholesome
Adjective
-
But to isolate gold, galamsey workers typically use poisonous mercury, which pollutes drinking water and farmland and has been linked to serious illness and birth defects.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
15 Oct. 2025
-
However, new evidence indicates that exposure to the poisonous element is not necessarily a new issue.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
By inviting armed soldiers into our streets, the Governor has sold out our sovereignty to a corrupt politician looking to distract you from the Epstein Files, rising prices at the grocery store, and more Texans than ever unable to realize the dream of homeownership.—
Jenna Sundel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Oct. 2025
-
MacCallum noted that Mamdani had apologized to two dozen members of the NYPD, having previously referred to them as racist, wicked and corrupt.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The change comes amid concerns about fireworks causing unhealthful air.—
Rong-Gong Lin II,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
-
Health professionals encourage people to use lean cuts of meat because most of the fat in animal products is unhealthful saturated fat, which can raise the risk of heart disease and cancer.—
Bethany Thayer,
Detroit Free Press,
22 June 2024
Adjective
-
Lattice’s resilient mesh network ensures that EagleEye remains functional in degraded or jammed environments.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Here, settler colonialism is understood as a form of environmental injustice, where pollution and degraded landscapes diminish Indigenous quality of life and ability to be in right relationship with the environment.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Their uses include promising methods for cleaning up toxic pollution.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
15 Oct. 2025
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These are people who, for whatever reason, aren’t bothered by this behavior and can act as a buffer or intermediary between the toxic person and the rest of the workforce.—
Susan Caminiti,
CNBC,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Only sea stars injected with Vibrio pectenicida, or with material from sick sea stars, showed signs of disease.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
17 Oct. 2025
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The Aquarium’s Rescue and Rehabilitation team also spends several months every year caring for sick and injured green sea turtles at its Sea Turtle Hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This isn’t unhealthy, according to nutrition experts.—
Korin Miller,
SELF,
17 Oct. 2025
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When air is stagnant, pollutants don't get dispersed, allowing ozone to build up to unhealthy levels.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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So truly noxious fart sprays often contain secret ingredient blends that are difficult to evaluate.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
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The hijacking of the sport and the community institutions that built it, by noxious forces using it for their own means.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unwholesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwholesome. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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