MEANING
1. Harmful to health or well-being; figuratively, morally unhealthy or faintly disturbing.
2. Morally unhealthy, corrupting, or suggestive of something quietly sinister.
Use it for
Create mild unease without naming an explicit threat.Give a smell, rumor, or atmosphere a quietly unhealthy or sinister quality.
Words that belong together
- unwholesome air
- unwholesome sweetness
- unwholesome influence
- unwholesome bargain
- unwholesome atmosphere
On the page
An unwholesome sweetness drifted from the sealed pantry.
The bargain carried an unwholesome promise of protection.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Word forms
- Base
- unwholesome
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Usage notes
Can describe physical harm or moral unease; the figurative sense is suggestive rather than necessarily supernatural. Sense 2: Figurative usage signals a low, persistent unease rather than sudden terror.
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