wholesome
Americanadjective
-
conducive to moral or general well-being; salutary; beneficial.
wholesome recreation;
wholesome environment.
-
conducive to bodily health; healthful; salubrious.
wholesome food;
wholesome air;
wholesome exercise.
- Synonyms:
- nutritious, nourishing
-
suggestive of physical or moral health, especially in appearance.
-
healthy or sound.
adjective
-
conducive to health or physical wellbeing
-
conducive to moral wellbeing
-
characteristic or suggestive of health or wellbeing, esp in appearance
Synonym Usage
See healthy.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of wholesome
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English ho(o)lsom; equivalent to whole + -some 1; cognate with Old High German heilsam, Old Norse heilsamr
Explanation
Anything wholesome is good for you. Hopscotch is in most cases a wholesome game, since you can't get into much trouble while hopping up and down on the concrete. Wholesome foods are the ones that your body appreciates, the ones that help you stay healthy. Marshmallows and corn chips aren't what you'd call wholesome, but organically grown fruits and vegetables are. Wholesome can also apply to other things. If you project a wholesome image, other people see you as a decent, moral person, somebody who's trustworthy and not living a secret life of crime. The word wholesome comes from the Old English hal, meaning "healthy."
Vocabulary lists containing wholesome
The Omnivore's Dilemma
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The War That Saved My Life
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Chew On This
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These unofficial sessions, in which Daphne recalls wholesome, inspiring moments of communion with Eddie, cure her of pretty much all her childhood hang-ups.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
The Independent gave it the same score, calling Race Across the World "a wonderful source of escapism in uneasy times" and "the most wholesome show on TV".
From BBC • May 21, 2026
But how do you solve a problem like Alan Jay Lerner’s book, written for a sensibility markedly more wholesome than our own?
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
If the goal was to make Jackson’s proclivities look normal and wholesome, congratulations, “Michael” is a spectacular failure.
From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026
She gloried in the off-beat dryness of Michelle Obama’s humor, the confidence in her long-limbed carriage, and then she mourned when Michelle Obama was clamped, flattened, made to sound tepidly wholesome in interviews.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
