unhealthful

adjective

ˌən-ˈhelth-fəl How to pronounce unhealthful (audio)
Definition of unhealthfulnext
as in poisonous
bad for the well-being of the body the unhealthful level of smog in the city

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 unhealthful Warnings of unhealthful air quality remained in effect Saturday across a wide swath of the United States due to smoke from Canadian wildfires that has engulfed the Northeast in haze for days. — Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2026 The soil may contain pathogens, pesticides and other unhealthful things. — Joan Morris, Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2026 The unhealthful effects of autocracy remain robust even when accounting for economic differences and when excluding Venezuela and its collapsing health-care system. — Thomas J. Bollyky, Foreign Affairs, 30 Jan. 2020 See All Example Sentences for unhealthful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhealthful
  1. poisonous
  2. toxic
  3. unhealthy
  4. unwholesome
  5. noxious
  6. insalubrious
  7. sickly
Adjective
  • With the throne disengaged from governance, petitions and reports from officials piled up unread, crucial state posts went unfilled, and the imperial bureaucracy splintered amid poisonous factional infighting.
    — Carl Minzner, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026
  • With this potential even more poisonous investments in the bloated and indebted Paramount behemoth, there’s even more reason to reject it.
    — Abigail Disney, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of poisonous
Adjective
  • All of this means a highly unpredictable world is the brain’s worst nightmare—and the uncertainty that results can quickly become toxic.
    — Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The arrival of hunter-killer chemistry suggests this persistent toxic legacy might finally be coming to an end.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of toxic
Adjective
  • To be sure, practicing a zest for life can be harder for those who have physical illness and pain and those who engage in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors.
    — Joan M. Cook, Time, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Air quality in Singapore remained unhealthy on Thursday, as smoke from widespread fires in Indonesia's Kalimantan region continued to drift toward the city-state, according to the National Environment Agency.
    — Jenny Lee,Zechariah Chan, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of unhealthy
Adjective
  • Their jail is strange and unwholesome.
    — Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2026
  • Grievous bodily harm, nonconsensual drugging, murder, yes…still, thank god there’s nothing unwholesome here, like say a man in a dress.
    — Dennis Harvey, Variety, 14 Mar. 2026
Definition of unwholesome
Adjective
  • Yakuza organized ultra-nationalist outfits like the National Essence Society, which aimed to crush such noxious foreign influences as Marxism.
    — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Officers punched him, covered his face, poured a noxious liquid over him and threatened him with further abuse.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of noxious
Adjective
  • The refuse rising in insalubrious piles, some taller than the pedestrians trying to avoid them, is a smelly, visceral symbol of popular outrage at the government’s plan.
    — Catherine Porter, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Many of the area's most insalubrious haunts are long gone, and in their place mostly restaurants, which come and go.
    — Tom Page, CNN, 30 Jan. 2023
Definition of insalubrious
Adjective
  • To cure his sickly daughter, the biotechnologist Raúl finds the cure… inside Lidia (Cindy Galán), her nanny.
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The sickly scent of alcohol filled the air and, when mixed with accompanying cigar smoke, combined for an odor most might find displeasing.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of sickly

Browse Nearby Words

unharmed
unhealthful
unhealthiness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Unhealthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhealthful. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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