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
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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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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
-
Wolf spider bites are not poisonous and won't cause sores or body-wide symptoms from its venom.—
Carrie Madormo,
Health,
6 Sep. 2025
-
This unconstitutional partisan politicization is poisonous to unit morale and discipline with long-term consequences for who serves and why.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The story of corrupt small-town cops taking on a former Marine was written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier and stars Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson and AnnaSophia Robb.—
Jack Smart,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Delegates and party leaders described it as a corrupt and hypocritical maneuver from the governor.—
Nicole Nixon,
Sacbee.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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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Developed by Toyota, the Sweep Energy Storage System rapidly switches each battery’s power flow on and off in mere microseconds, even when new batteries are connected to degraded or different capacity batteries.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Aug. 2025
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Yet, as Beech pointed out, a lot of the material goods actually from the ‘70s are of a lower quality than earlier decades and also more degraded than the period relics of the ‘80s and ‘90s.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Wilson and Webbon told USA TODAY that scripture provides safeguards against toxic behavior.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
9 Sep. 2025
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An alkaline compound, baking soda is a non-toxic cleaner with a coarseness that works wonders for scrubbing grime, removing difficult stains, and deodorizing stinky odors.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Some doctors might not even immediately recognize symptoms in a sick patient because vaccines have made many contagious diseases rare in this country, said Marty, the FIU expert.—
Michelle Marchante,
Miami Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
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However, some can, and those with risk factors can certainly become very sick.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Moderate air quality in general is expected though areas immediately north and west of the fire could see up to unhealthy air quality.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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There is a great deal of widespread angst right now about people having unhealthy chats with AI.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Along with the swamp eels, scientists in the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center have been most concerned about the spread of Cuban tree frogs, which secrete noxious chemicals that are harmful to humans, and alligatorweed, which clogs waterways that can impact infrastructure.—
Wesley Bruer,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
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With the original Toxic Avenger creator’s blessing, Macon Blair has brought the cult franchise back from its noxious cinematic dumping grounds.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unwholesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unwholesome. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
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