as in filthy
not sanitary and likely to cause disease
working under unsanitary conditions The bathroom facilities were unsanitary.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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 unsanitary
The airport can feel like an unsanitary place.
—
Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 9 Mar. 2026
The detainees describe a camp where an average of about 3,000 people have lived per day in loud and unsanitary quarters, diseases spread easily and sleep is a luxury.
—Morgan Lee, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Giving kitchenware a quick rinse and calling it a day can leave behind unwanted odors, bacteria, and food residue that makes the items unsanitary to use.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 7 Mar. 2026
The detainees describe a camp where an average of about 3,000 people have lived per day in loud and unsanitary quarters, diseases spread easily and sleep is a luxury.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unsanitary
Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 9 Mar. 2026
The detainees describe a camp where an average of about 3,000 people have lived per day in loud and unsanitary quarters, diseases spread easily and sleep is a luxury.
—Morgan Lee, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2026
Giving kitchenware a quick rinse and calling it a day can leave behind unwanted odors, bacteria, and food residue that makes the items unsanitary to use.
—Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 7 Mar. 2026
The detainees describe a camp where an average of about 3,000 people have lived per day in loud and unsanitary quarters, diseases spread easily and sleep is a luxury.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unsanitary
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsanitary
Adjective
-
On January 7, Saman wrote me that two of her Afghan neighbors had just been arrested and sent to a deportation camp that was rumored to be filthy, cold, and overcrowded.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
24 Mar. 2026
-
The filmmaker shows a strong handle over the film’s fanciful tone and fitfully filthy sense of humor, and he’s credited with composing the film’s score full of squawking brass instruments and skittish strings in addition to writing, directing and editing.—
Stephen Saito,
Variety,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Across the Northern Hemisphere, migratory fish such as salmon, sturgeon and shad have suffered major losses because rivers have been dammed and polluted, while many populations were heavily overfished.—
Zeb Hogan,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Bangladesh and Tajikistan were second and third on the most polluted list.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Let the paste sit for 10 to 20 minutes, leaving it on longer for heavily greased or soiled areas.—
Louise Parks,
Martha Stewart,
16 Jan. 2026
-
Bonner’s story is what is right about sports, which seem to become more soiled and corrupt by the minute.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Investigators described a foul-smelling place with bags and bottles of fetuses and jars of body parts, along with bloodstained furniture and dirty medical instruments.—
Greg Norman-Diamond,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Flaky salmon, soft and creamy potatoes, and rosy radishes roast on the same baking sheet for a company-worthy dinner that won’t fill the sink with dirty dishes.—
Jesse Szewczyk,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
23 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Images shared online by local media outlets showed a black cloud of smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed, and a truck with soldiers rushing to the site.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Inside, one by one, the men picked up black markers to write their information on a white slate and waited to face the camera.—
Taran Khan,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The company issued the recall because the shrimp may have been prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with cesium-137 (Cs-137).—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Employees were observed to only sanitize their gloved hands after touching insanitary surfaces and then resumed touching RTE food and various food contact surfaces.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
12 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
That’s something that the broader AI industry has so far struggled to do, partly because LLMs are typically trained on vast, messy datasets scraped from across the internet, where ownership, consent and individual contributions from millions of sources are nearly impossible to track.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Over the years, messy planning has led to controversial, costly golden parachutes, shareholder lawsuits, a stockholder revolt and a bitter, distracting proxy fight.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
18 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
However, similarly chaotic conditions have not been replicated at either DFW or Love Field.—
Dallas Morning News,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Dvornychenko was reunited with two boys almost two years after that chaotic night of her arrest.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unsanitary.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsanitary. Accessed 26 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
