as in poisonous
bad for the well-being of the body
the unhealthful level of smog in the city
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unhealthful
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
With fire comes unhealthful smoke, which also threatens air quality for much of the U.S.
Wildfire smoke blankets much of the East
Many of the areas experiencing wildfire smoke will see moderate air quality for the next several days, according to the U.S. Air Quality Index.
—Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY, 21 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
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
With fire comes unhealthful smoke, which also threatens air quality for much of the U.S.
Wildfire smoke blankets much of the East
Many of the areas experiencing wildfire smoke will see moderate air quality for the next several days, according to the U.S. Air Quality Index.
—Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY, 21 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
-
Both fruit and tuber are poisonous.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
16 Apr. 2026
-
When Floyd is found dead at a community pool surrounded by a poisonous cocktail and a vintage Playgirl magazine, two detectives (Richard Jenkins and Joy Sunday) begin unraveling the bizarre chain of events that led to his death.—
Clayton Davis,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The former Exide Technologies plant in Vernon melted down pallets of lead-acid car batteries in blast furnaces for nearly a century, blanketing up to 10,000 nearby properties with toxic dust, according to state officials.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Oil prices are once again surging in the wake of war in the Middle East, driving up the cost of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel and threatening a return to stagflation – the toxic mix of higher prices and slower growth that made economic life so miserable a half century ago.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The weather conditions prompted the South Coast Air District to issue dust advisories for parts of the Coachella Valley, warning that strong winds could expose people to unhealthy dust levels.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Not that anyone is likely to form this kind of unhealthy attachment to Loop.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
Adjective
-
The practice has had horrible consequences for the Black, working class neighborhood where the turbines are located, whose residents are stuck breathing xAI’s noxious exhaust.—
Joe Wilkins,
Futurism,
16 Apr. 2026
-
The Mummy is Cronin’s third feature, a noxious and gnarly enough reimagining of Universal’s franchise of the same name that began in 1932.—
Gregory Nussen,
Deadline,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The refuse rising in insalubrious piles, some taller than the pedestrians trying to avoid them, is a smelly, visceral symbol of popular outrage at the government’s plan.—
Catherine Porter,
New York Times,
15 Mar. 2023
-
Many of the area's most insalubrious haunts are long gone, and in their place mostly restaurants, which come and go.—
Tom Page,
CNN,
30 Jan. 2023
Adjective
-
There’s a painterly look to the image, rather than the typical slop-style sickly sheen, but the AI origins are still unmistakable.—
Cath Virginia,
The Verge,
11 Apr. 2026
-
For reasons that are still poorly understood, the body’s immune system, normally tuned exquisitely to root out and destroy invasive pathogens or sickly cells, begins to assault healthy cells instead.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unhealthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhealthful. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
