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
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Troopers also seized an unregistered gun and ammunition from Cook, who is charged with trafficking 200 grams or more of cocaine, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
-
But once those moratoriums ended in 2023, unlawful detainers (a type of notice that can lead to eviction) doubled from June 2022 to June 2023.—
Saumya Roy,
The Dial,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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In addition to being immoral, CFA’s support for BDS likely violates state law, AB 2844, which prohibits California from contracting with entities that engage in discrimination, including against Jews or Israelis.—
Mark Pinkert,
Oc Register,
23 Dec. 2025
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The film follows the deliciously immoral, widowed Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale), who maneuvers, deceives and seduces her way through London and across her relatives' country estates in an effort to find a wealthy husband for herself and her daughter, Frederica (Morfydd Clark).—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
29 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Hefner the evil flesh merchant.—
Lili Anolik,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
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In director John Boorman's extravagant sci-fi classic Excalibur (1981), the star played Morgana, King Arthur's estranged and evil half-sister.—
Diane J. Cho,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Gettin’ sinful all of a sudden.—
David Searcy,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Tantric cultural and spiritual traditions, which began to emerge in the early centuries of the Common Era, take a positive perspective on the material world in general and the human body in particular, as opposed to traditions that regard both as inherently illusory or sinful.—
Anya Foxen,
The Conversation,
9 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Park Chan-wook’s latest masterwork is a wicked comedy of capitalism and homicide.—
Ty Burr,
Washington Post,
8 Jan. 2026
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So much so that a few of the most popular colorways sold out wicked fast.—
Ruby McAuliffe,
InStyle,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Officials charged Damon Leanord of Pleasanton, Kansas, with interference with law enforcement, having a vicious dog at large and criminal desecration of a body in Linn County and abandonment of a corpse charges in Bates County, Missouri, after finding the child’s body at the bottom of a creek bed.—
Sofi Zeman
January 6,
Kansas City Star,
6 Jan. 2026
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He was shocked in 2013 when he was struck by vicious bouts of vomiting.—
Robert McCoppin,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Removing a vile, brutal, and corrupt president without a clear transition plan, and relying on his former regime to deliver if for you, is not supporting democracy.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
5 Jan. 2026
-
Grok, the chatbot of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, published sexualized images of children as its guardrails seem to have failed when it was prompted with vile user requests.—
The Los Angeles Times,
Boston Herald,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Now, but as the statistics and figures come in here in Minneapolis, there's double-digit drops in crime, coupled with a lot of bad people and bad things being taken off of your streets.—
Esme Murphy,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
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Under President Biden, the FTC and DOJ slowed large transactions, suggesting that all big businesses were bad businesses.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unrighteous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unrighteous. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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