1
as in poisonous
bad for the well-being of the body
health inspectors shut down several food stands that were using tainted and unwholesome meat
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
despite having been raised in such unwholesome environments as a brothel and a traveling circus, singer Edith Piaf rose to international stardom
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of unwholesome
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
By mid-afternoon the weather turned downright unwholesome.
—Arthur Grahame, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2025
Like its unwholesome protagonist, the film — and the roving camera of Vladislav Opelyants, shooting in gorgeously high-contrast black-and-white — is forever on the move, creating an immersive aesthetic experience that amounts to a big pile of nothing.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
As for the place, its veneer of comfortable tourism doesn’t hide the air of something unwholesome, especially when female guests start randomly throwing up.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2024
In celebration of her return, everyone from comedian Melissa McCarthy, who’s playing the conniving nemesis of King Triton, to film historians, are taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary drag queen who inspired Ursula’s unwholesome ways: Divine.
—Elaina Patton, NBC News, 26 May 2023
There was something indefinably unwholesome about him.
—Ian McEwan, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
This syndrome originally surfaced in 1926, when residents of Haverhill, Massachusetts drank unwholesome milk and suffered soaring temps, aching joints, and skin lesions ranging from flat, red spots to papules, pustules, and blisters—the same telltale features earlier linked to bites.
—Claire Panosian Dunavan, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2018
Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 13 June 2025
By mid-afternoon the weather turned downright unwholesome.
—Arthur Grahame, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2025
Like its unwholesome protagonist, the film — and the roving camera of Vladislav Opelyants, shooting in gorgeously high-contrast black-and-white — is forever on the move, creating an immersive aesthetic experience that amounts to a big pile of nothing.
—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 20 May 2025
As for the place, its veneer of comfortable tourism doesn’t hide the air of something unwholesome, especially when female guests start randomly throwing up.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2024
In celebration of her return, everyone from comedian Melissa McCarthy, who’s playing the conniving nemesis of King Triton, to film historians, are taking the opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary drag queen who inspired Ursula’s unwholesome ways: Divine.
—Elaina Patton, NBC News, 26 May 2023
There was something indefinably unwholesome about him.
—Ian McEwan, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022
This syndrome originally surfaced in 1926, when residents of Haverhill, Massachusetts drank unwholesome milk and suffered soaring temps, aching joints, and skin lesions ranging from flat, red spots to papules, pustules, and blisters—the same telltale features earlier linked to bites.
—Claire Panosian Dunavan, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unwholesome
Adjective
-
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
-
In one of many tonally jarring subplots, Vince works out a scam to burn down his dead mother’s house in Brooklyn to collect the insurance money with the help of a corrupt fire marshal.—
Andrew Bernard,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The writer became inspired to counteract his complicity in a corrupt system.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The change comes amid concerns about fireworks causing unhealthful air.—
Rong-Gong Lin II,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2025
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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
Adjective
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At the same time, suicide-attack FPVs incorporate AI navigation for autonomous terminal guidance under degraded control.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Oct. 2025
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Under her leadership, the NYBG’s research team has expanded to 81 projects across 79 countries to conserve disappearing plant species, restore degraded ecosystems, and breed crops to withstand drought, sea level rise and extreme heat under climate change.—
Eduardo Garcia,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
But as that incident demonstrated, even a small number of controllers calling in sick can have a big impact.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Austin Hedges gets sick to his stomach before postseason games.—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
2 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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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
Cite this Entry
“Unwholesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwholesome. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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