as in poisonous
bad for the well-being of the body
the unhealthful level of smog in the city
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unhealthful
Onshore winds are pushing smoke from the Sandy fire into Los Angeles County, where neighborhoods from the San Fernando Valley to Arcadia could face unhealthful air for sensitive groups.
—
Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026
The soil may contain pathogens, pesticides and other unhealthful things.
—Joan Morris, Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2026
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
The unhealthful effects of autocracy remain robust even when accounting for economic differences and when excluding Venezuela and its collapsing health-care system.
—Thomas J. Bollyky, Foreign Affairs, 30 Jan. 2020
See All Example Sentences for unhealthful
Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026
The soil may contain pathogens, pesticides and other unhealthful things.
—Joan Morris, Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2026
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
The unhealthful effects of autocracy remain robust even when accounting for economic differences and when excluding Venezuela and its collapsing health-care system.
—Thomas J. Bollyky, Foreign Affairs, 30 Jan. 2020
See All Example Sentences for unhealthful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhealthful
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
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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
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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
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Evolving workplace trends continue to reflect this toxic sentiment and culture.—
Jon Rosemberg,
Fortune,
9 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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In other words, smartphone accessibility often promotes unhealthy habits among this impressionable age group.—
Sarah Scott,
Parents,
10 Dec. 2025
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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
-
Their jail is strange and unwholesome.—
Robert Rubsam,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
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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
Adjective
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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
“Unhealthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhealthful. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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