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
Their jail is strange and unwholesome.
—
Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
Grievous bodily harm, nonconsensual drugging, murder, yes…still, thank god there’s nothing unwholesome here, like say a man in a dress.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
The public, however, knew what to expect from this unwholesome mixture of politics and celebrity and didn’t tune in.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
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
Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
Grievous bodily harm, nonconsensual drugging, murder, yes…still, thank god there’s nothing unwholesome here, like say a man in a dress.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
The public, however, knew what to expect from this unwholesome mixture of politics and celebrity and didn’t tune in.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwholesome
Adjective
-
Not only are the leaves poisonous to humans and pets, but the vine itself is invasive and can spread disease to trees.—
Samantha Johnson,
Martha Stewart,
7 June 2026
-
The consequences ranged from hobbling Reconstruction to hastening the end of the Ottoman Empire to poisonous deflation, and the blundering response by governments helped shape the modern world.—
Air Mail,
Air Mail,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
There's a corrupt deal happening at the biggest levels among the billionaire class to increase their wealth at the expense of many people are suffering greatly right now.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 June 2026
-
The police are a corrupt institution.—
Grace Byron,
New Yorker,
14 June 2026
Adjective
-
Some chemical disasters result from power outages, for example at the Arkema Chemical Plant in Crosby, Texas, where more than three feet of flood waters damaged the refrigeration systems keeping toxic chemicals from decomposing and igniting.—
Cynthia Palmer,
Time,
9 Dec. 2025
-
Evolving workplace trends continue to reflect this toxic sentiment and culture.—
Jon Rosemberg,
Fortune,
9 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Even when degraded, enzymes have stable backbones that might be capable of catalyzing reactions, said Sudha Rajamani, an astrobiologist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune who wasn’t involved in the study.—
Siddhant Pusdekar,
Quanta Magazine,
1 June 2026
-
Air force and air defenses The Revolutionary Air Force and Air Defense Force are widely regarded as the most degraded branch of Cuba’s military.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
In other words, smartphone accessibility often promotes unhealthy habits among this impressionable age group.—
Sarah Scott,
Parents,
10 Dec. 2025
-
That disruption may help contextualize why unhealthy eating habits are strongly linked to overeating, emotional eating, depression, anxiety and cognitive problems, according to the researchers.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
8 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Operation Wetback thus drew on a longer racial script that cast Mexican migrants as dirty, sick, and criminal.—
Cara A. Kinnally,
Time,
15 June 2026
-
If healthier people drop out of the risk pool, fewer people subsidize the people who get sick, Gidwani said.—
Andrew Jones,
CBS News,
15 June 2026
Adjective
-
The board said the crude oil spill caught little media attention, most likely because the media was consumed by a threat of explosion of noxious gas leaking from a chemical tank at the GKN Aerospace plant in Garden Grove that resulted in an evacuation of 50,000 people.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
9 June 2026
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The company is challenging the county’s decision to award a contract to Oransi LLC for up to 30,000 portable air purifiers intended for residents affected by noxious gases emanating from the Tijuana River.—
Walker Armstrong,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 June 2026
Adjective
-
In the heyday of her career, her choppy hair, flat chest, sickly pallor and large darting eyes were a manic pixie dream.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
3 June 2026
-
First, the spots appear, then leaves yellow and fall off the plant, and your rose bush turns into a sickly collection of sticks with no flower buds in sight.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unwholesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwholesome. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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