as in unlawful
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable
an unrighteous act that cannot go unpunished by the congregation
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Recent Examples of unrighteous
Spears writes of these unrighteous men matter-of-factly, avoiding the ad hominem attack, except for an occasional delicious arrow, including a recollection of the eternally white Timberlake meeting one of his rap heroes.
—
Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023
Christ himself suffered on account of sins, once for all, the righteous one on behalf of the unrighteous.
—Olivia Muenter, Woman's Day, 8 Feb. 2023
The millions who tune in to Carlson every night to get their outrage on should remember what their favorite host traffics in: bloviation, demagoguery and unrighteous indignation.
—Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2022
Many people, after all, think that the righteous should prosper and the unrighteous not.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 27 July 2021
He’s gone through buzzard-hot streaks and some slumps, at times taking wholly unrighteous shots, and none of that matters to the shooting guard.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 23 Apr. 2021
An early episode in this cycle played out in the seemingly unrighteous realm of Hollywood backstage drama.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 16 June 2020
Brief letter from the soldiers of Islamic State in the land of Andalus for the crusaders, the hateful, the sinful, the unrighteous, the corrupting ones.
—Jeannette Neumann, WSJ, 23 Aug. 2017
Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023
Christ himself suffered on account of sins, once for all, the righteous one on behalf of the unrighteous.
—Olivia Muenter, Woman's Day, 8 Feb. 2023
The millions who tune in to Carlson every night to get their outrage on should remember what their favorite host traffics in: bloviation, demagoguery and unrighteous indignation.
—Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2022
Many people, after all, think that the righteous should prosper and the unrighteous not.
—Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 27 July 2021
He’s gone through buzzard-hot streaks and some slumps, at times taking wholly unrighteous shots, and none of that matters to the shooting guard.
—Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 23 Apr. 2021
An early episode in this cycle played out in the seemingly unrighteous realm of Hollywood backstage drama.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 16 June 2020
Brief letter from the soldiers of Islamic State in the land of Andalus for the crusaders, the hateful, the sinful, the unrighteous, the corrupting ones.
—Jeannette Neumann, WSJ, 23 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unrighteous
Adjective
-
The tort of battery, meaning unlawful and harmful physical contact, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, which refers to using extreme conduct to terrorize another, are potential claims.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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Hoping to keep the Solar for All program on track, the group has asked a jury to declare the program's termination unlawful and issue an injunction requiring the EPA to reinstate the program.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Unlike previous seasons, Dorothy never makes immoral choices.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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This is disgraceful and immoral.—
Armando Garcia,
ABC News,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Tim Curry's marvelous Frank was a monster of self-regard, and Tim knew exactly how to give this evil genius his head and Mick served it up on a photographic plate.—
Sara Belcher,
PEOPLE,
2 Oct. 2025
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Major biotech companies that churn out made-to-order DNA for scientists have protections in place to keep dangerous biological material out of the hands of would-be evil-doers.—
Nell Greenfieldboyce,
NPR,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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No one knows the cake’s origin, but people like to offer theories on its name: Some say the word devil is a nod to the sinful dark chocolate, reminiscent of devil’s food cake.—
Sheri Castle,
Southern Living,
22 Sep. 2025
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In an important variation, medieval soldiers returning from war regularly spent an extended period of penance in monasteries – a recognition of Catholicism’s teaching that any war is inherently sinful.—
Timothy Gabrielli,
The Conversation,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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For some, that Friday will be extra wicked, but for a good reason.—
Addy Bink,
The Hill,
30 Sep. 2025
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As if Minos inspired such hatred, such fear and disgust, that the feelings themselves boiled up from Daedalus’s heart and gushed out through the tap to cook the wicked king alive.—
Seamus Sullivan
September 29,
Literary Hub,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The worry with a dog like Chey is the fact they could be locked in a vicious cycle.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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The show follows Ed Gein (Charlie Hunnam), an unassuming and odd man, working his family’s farm under the watchful eye of his hateful and vicious mother, Augusta (Laurie Metcalf).—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In the season’s back half, neither its overloading of vile desecrations nor maudlin sentimentality adds anything that Monster hadn’t already established four episodes ago.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
4 Oct. 2025
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Koch’s vile conduct spawns a number of unnecessary fantasy sequences either brought on by the comics or wholly imagined by Ed.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The game didn’t start bad for the Giants.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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Apparently, Grier forgot his own words, because the lines that the Dolphins have built are collectively their worst this decade, something evident in a crushing 27-24 loss to Carolina, a game in which Miami blew a 17-0 lead.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unrighteous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unrighteous. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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