healthy

American  

[hel-thee] / ˈhɛl θi /

adjective

• healthier,
  comparative
• healthiest
  superlative

1. possessing or enjoying good health or a sound and vigorous mentality.

   a healthy body;

   a healthy mind.

   Synonyms:

   robust, hearty, hale

   Antonyms:

   sick

2. pertaining to or characteristic of good health or a sound and vigorous mind.

   a healthy appearance;

   healthy attitudes.

3. conducive to good health; healthful.

   healthy recreations.

   Synonyms:

   nourishing, nutritious

4. eligible for the Food and Drug Administration's label certifying that a food is suitable for helping consumers achieve a total diet that conforms to dietary recommendations.

5. prosperous or sound.

   a healthy business.

6. Informal. fairly large.

   I bought a healthy number of books.

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healthy British  

/ ˈhɛlθɪ /

adjective

1. enjoying good health

2. functioning well or being sound

   the company's finances are not very healthy

3. conducive to health; salutary

4. indicating soundness of body or mind

   a healthy appetite

5. informal considerable in size or amount

   a healthy sum

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Synonym Usage

Healthy, healthful, salubrious, salutary, wholesome refer to the promotion of health. Healthy, while applied especially to what possesses health, is also applicable to what is conducive to health: a healthy climate; not a healthy place to be. Healthful and salubrious are applied chiefly to what is conducive to health: healthful diet or exercise; a salubrious impact on mental outlook. Salutary suggests something that is conducive to well-being generally, as well as beneficial in preserving or in restoring health: salutary effects; to take salutary measures. It is used also to indicate moral benefit: to have a salutary fear of devious behavior. Wholesome has connotations of attractive freshness and purity; it applies to what is good for one, physically, morally, or both: wholesome food; wholesome influences or advice.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• healthiness
  noun
• healthily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• healthier
  comparative
• healthiest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of healthy

First recorded in 1545–55; health + -y ¹

Explanation

Healthy means having good health. It's the opposite of sick, but also can mean "doing well" in a general sense. You can have a healthy attitude, or be served a healthy portion of food. Health is one of the most fundamental human concerns. The ubiquitous "How are you?" is often asking after a person's health. To remember healthy think of the proverb: "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy and wealthy and wise."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

healthy healthier healthiest

He was asked to reflect on how many healthy years he had left and what he planned to do with them, two years at a time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

A mechanism that allows healthy tissue to recover from devastating damage could potentially be harnessed to improve healing.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

“We believe long-end investors will continue to demand healthy levels of term premium given elevated nominal GDP growth, large fiscal deficits, and the Fed’s willingness to tolerate inflation modestly above 2%,” McVey wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

And reliever Edwin Díaz not only has spent most of the season on the IL but lost the closer spot with poor performance when he was healthy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Followed by a lecture about privacy, security, and healthy online boundaries.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Doctors say Americans who get vaccines tend to be healthier than those who do not, and people who ask their doctors about whether to get the shingles vaccine are more likely to be health conscious.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

When superficial white matter was healthier, the link between gray matter loss and poorer cognition was weaker.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

"There are so many brilliant things happening in our communities to make them greener, healthier and more resilient," West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker said.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Older, healthier animals might eventually return to the wild, but younger ones struggle to learn the skills needed to survive.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Evidence from fossilised skeletons indicates that ancient foragers were less likely to suffer from starvation or malnutrition, and were generally taller and healthier than their peasant descendants.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

That could test even the healthiest of sibling relationships.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

“Having a parent that wasn’t overly engrossed in my winning and losing was the healthiest thing,” Austin says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

The disadvantages of Broadcom’s AI-chip strategy are also coming into sharper focus as the financial capacity of the healthiest tech companies gets stretched.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

Avoiding drinking during pregnancy is the healthiest choice for both you and your baby.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026

Dr. Medina wanted in on the fight, and promised her healthiest animals would help, too.

From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles

Related Words

• active
• athletic
• fresh
• healthful
• hearty
• lively
• normal
• robust
• strong
• tough
• vigorous