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 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
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Powell County paramedic Eddie Barnes and one of his team members were called to the Kentucky Reptile Zoo in May after the zoo’s co-director, James Harrison, was bitten by a poisonous mamba snake, local news outlet LEX 18 reported.—
Toria Sheffield,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
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Rather than allowing herself to be captured by the Romans, legend has it that Cleopatra let a poisonous asp bite her in Alexandria, according to the documentary.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This action starts the process of clearing toxic species, which restores the blood vessels’ natural role as an effective waste-clearing pathway.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Oct. 2025
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Chocolate, caffeine, alcohol, and raw dough all pose serious risks due to toxic ingredients or fermentation byproducts.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Soon, olive loaf was perceived as unhealthy.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
4 Oct. 2025
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Residents across parts of Indianapolis, Indiana, faced potentially unhealthy levels of air pollution early Friday, a live map from AirNow, a partnership between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other agencies showed.—
Joe Edwards,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 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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So truly noxious fart sprays often contain secret ingredient blends that are difficult to evaluate.—
Nate Anderson,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
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The hijacking of the sport and the community institutions that built it, by noxious forces using it for their own means.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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Once the familiar franchise fog creeps into town, a wave of red spider lilies crashes behind it, warping Ebisugaoka and its inhabitants with a sickly red and pink glow.—
Zackery Cuevas,
PC Magazine,
23 Sep. 2025
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Sulfuric acid rains down through the sickly yellow sky but never reaches the lava-licked ground.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unhealthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhealthful. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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