unhealthful

adjective

ˌən-ˈhelth-fəl How to pronounce unhealthful (audio)
Definition of unhealthfulnext
as in poisonous
bad for the well-being of the body the unhealthful level of smog in the city

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 Warnings of unhealthful air quality remained in effect Saturday across a wide swath of the United States due to smoke from Canadian wildfires that has engulfed the Northeast in haze for days. — Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2026 The soil may contain pathogens, pesticides and other unhealthful things. — Joan Morris, Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2026 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
  1. poisonous
  2. toxic
  3. unhealthy
  4. unwholesome
  5. noxious
  6. insalubrious
  7. sickly
Adjective
  • Now, a poisonous residue on the same crowbar has left him incapacitated.
    — Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
  • This low-temperature, low-pressure hydrometallurgical method removes arsenic cleanly and operates without fossil fuels or poisonous gas emissions.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of poisonous
Adjective
  • Gill and Krukoff separately pushed their way into Indigenous communities, bribing or cajoling elders to forage vines and process toxic plant compounds known as curare.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Concern over plastic in the kitchen and its affects on the endocrine system has been growing for the past few years, Nathan said, referencing a viral article that linked black plastics in the kitchen to alarming levels of toxic flame retardants.
    — Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of toxic
Adjective
  • For example, people taking the drugs typically consume fewer unhealthy foods and less alcohol in favor of healthier products.
    — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Schools in the state of Johor Bahru in Malaysia have also closed due to the air quality reaching unhealthy levels.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of unhealthy
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
Definition of unwholesome
Adjective
  • The history between these men is more noxious than your garden-variety case of paternal neglect — there’s been emotional and physical abuse.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Yakuza organized ultra-nationalist outfits like the National Essence Society, which aimed to crush such noxious foreign influences as Marxism.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of noxious
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
Definition of insalubrious
Adjective
  • The color is red velvet; the sound brims with sickly pulses and crocodile-teeth percussion; the playwright is a cross between Charlie Kaufman and Muse.
    — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 29 Oct. 2026
  • After wallowing unbought with her fellow robots in a gloomy city storefront, Klara is finally purchased by a sickly young girl, Josie (Mia Tharia), and her dominant mother, Chrissy (Amy Adams).
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of sickly

Browse Nearby Words

unharmed
unhealthful
unhealthiness
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Cite this Entry

“Unhealthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhealthful. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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