as in unpleasant
bad, harmful, or unpleasant
The drug has some undesirable side effects. This decision may have undesirable consequences.
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Recent Examples of undesirable
The free market allows discovery of best ways to inhibit and punish undesirable behavior — ways politicians and bureaucrats could never discover.
—
Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
For modern high-performance structural uses, an exact replica of nacre might even be undesirable because those organic silk proteins would lose their structure at high temperatures.
—Caitlin Kennedy, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2026
All of these routes risk undesirable tax consequences or, perhaps worse, ire from heirs.
—Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2026
University of Vermont associate professor and historian Lutz Kaelber estimated that roughly 20,000 people in California deemed undesirable were forcibly sterilized until 1964 due to eugenics policies.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for undesirable
Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026
For modern high-performance structural uses, an exact replica of nacre might even be undesirable because those organic silk proteins would lose their structure at high temperatures.
—Caitlin Kennedy, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2026
All of these routes risk undesirable tax consequences or, perhaps worse, ire from heirs.
—Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2026
University of Vermont associate professor and historian Lutz Kaelber estimated that roughly 20,000 people in California deemed undesirable were forcibly sterilized until 1964 due to eugenics policies.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for undesirable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for undesirable
Adjective
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And since each state tax operates under its own often arcane rules, those costs can come as an unpleasant surprise.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2026
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His rhetoric is unpleasant and extreme enough that he could not get confirmed to a university board in Florida.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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Using it on lawns and the environment harms the natural predators to species homeowners and farmers are trying to control, which can lead to a surge in those unwanted populations.—
Gavin Escott,
USA Today,
20 May 2026
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The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 limits unwanted marketing messages.—
Itzel Luna,
Los Angeles Times,
20 May 2026
Adjective
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Which is horrible, just that amount of women being murdered.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
17 May 2026
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Hmmm, a book about climate change, economic hardship, labor shortages, rising food prices, and a family having a horrible time?—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
Those forests were previously home to bats, a natural reservoir for all kinds of nasty viruses.—
Neil Vora,
Time,
22 May 2026
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Still, his vice president’s now president, and his very, very nasty minister of justice is, some say, the power behind the throne.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
20 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Undesirable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/undesirable. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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