as in poisonous
bad for the well-being of the body
the unhealthful level of smog in the city
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Recent Examples of unhealthful
The grades are based on the number of days a county’s air reaches unhealthful levels when measuring ozone and particle pollution.
—
Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2024
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 map is color-coded to indicate whether the air is good, unhealthful or hazardous.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for unhealthful
Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2024
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 map is color-coded to indicate whether the air is good, unhealthful or hazardous.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for unhealthful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhealthful
Adjective
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Also, maybe, Regan, the king’s poisonous middle daughter.—
Han Ong,
New Yorker,
22 June 2025
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In addition to cyanide in her water, poisonous powder was also put in her air vents, prosecutors said.—
Kate Linderman,
Kansas City Star,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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Setting the right tone and removing toxic employees becomes mission-critical to managing human employees in an age of AI.—
Jennifer C. Wolfe,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
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The full moon in Libra on the 12th illuminates your relationships, highlighting where you may be stuck in codependent or toxic dynamics.—
Meghan Rose,
Glamour,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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That means overcoming interpersonal tensions, freezing conditions, dwindling rations, and unhealthy CO2 levels, among other challenges, as well as taking on a pulse-pounding manual course correction with no navigational computer.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
29 June 2025
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After more than a decade as a reviewer, Jason Bennett has an unhealthy love for rogue-lite survival games and terrible puns.—
Jason Bennett,
Arkansas Online,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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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
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By mid-afternoon the weather turned downright unwholesome.—
Arthur Grahame,
Outdoor Life,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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He was arrested for assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a noxious chemical — bear repellent in a clear container adorned with a picture of a bear.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
30 June 2025
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The first-term San Diego assembly member is MAGA to his marrow, bringing Donald Trump’s noxious politics and personal approach to Sacramento.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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Two figures, Gavin Williamson, the education secretary who has blown hot and cold over whether children can go back to school, and Robert Jenrick, the local-government minister, who is entangled in a scandal with an insalubrious party donor, look particularly dismal.—
The Economist,
The Economist,
20 June 2020
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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
Adjective
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Beneath several sickly banana trees sat a man in tired corduroy pants and worn blue Skechers.—
Pete McKenzie,
Harpers Magazine,
18 June 2025
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As a sickly boy raised by two women, young Darin was smothered with affection.—
Jordan Runtagh,
People.com,
22 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unhealthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhealthful. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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