UNSANITARY Synonyms: 111 Similar and Opposite Words

unsanitary

adjective

Definition of unsanitary

as in filthy

not sanitary and likely to cause disease working under unsanitary conditions The bathroom facilities were unsanitary.

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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 Nobody wants their toothbrush bristles touching dirty surfaces or falling into unsanitary places. — Katelyn Squiers, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Sep. 2026 In addition to homeless pets coming through the shelter, there has also been a huge increase in the amount of pet owners in need of help, seeking resources or found to have pets in unsafe and unsanitary conditions. — Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 11 Sep. 2026 Though each of the Ghetto’s three areas (the Ghetto Nuovo, the Ghetto Vecchio, and the Ghetto Nuovissimo) retained its own, distinct character until remarkably late, it was always cramped, unsanitary, and marred by privation. — Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026 When the Followers began, healthcare on the Western frontier was primitive, unsanitary and riddled with con artists peddling fake cures. — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 25 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for unsanitary

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsanitary

Adjective

Some orphans, their faces filthy, walked the stands hawking candy.

— Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026
Myriad violations, from food that should’ve been trashed weeks earlier to filthy equipment, befouled the state inspection of a West Miami-Dade supermarket this week.

— David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026

Definition of filthy

Adjective

One of the singular features of Baotou, an industrial city of 2 million people in Inner Mongolia, is a 10-square-kilometer (4-square-mile) lake that is among the most polluted in the world.

— Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2026
Lahn, who was endorsed early in his primary by political committee MAHA Action, has diverged from many of his Republican peers in directly linking polluted water and agrochemicals to Iowa’s cancer crisis.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of polluted

Adjective

The mop head was stored directly inside the mop bucket, soiled and wet, and not in use.

— Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado July 24, Sacbee.com, 24 July 2026
Let the cleaner sit for 15 minutes and blot the excess, or cover it with a damp cloth and leave it for up to 24 hours for heavily soiled or old, set-in spots.

— Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 26 June 2026

Definition of soiled

Adjective

The concentration of quaternary ammonia in the bucket with sanitizer is low (<100 ppm) and the water is visibly dirty.

— NWA Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
Many of the strongest initial applications are the dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks that go unfilled, contribute to injuries, and pull people away from higher-value judgment and exception handling.

— Navin Chaddha, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of dirty

Adjective

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
The company admitted that by January 2021 some employees were aware that the insanitary conditions were causing products to become contaminated.

— Kate Gibson, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2024

Definition of insanitary

Adjective

In art, as in life, the messy materiality of flesh fazes me not one whit.

— Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
View gallery - 4 images For all the extraordinary things that consumer 3D printers can produce, changing color has remained a surprisingly messy business.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of messy

Adjective

Week 7 of the 2026 college football season will go down as one of the most chaotic ever, with five Top 10 teams suffering losses, and the newest AP Top 25 Poll reflects the craziness that unfolded.

— Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
While the weather painted a chaotic picture, stories from Malibu residents were of neighbors coming together as a community in a way only the specter of disaster could prompt.

— Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026