unhealthy
Americanadjective
-
not in a state of good or normal health; in an unsound, weak, or morbid condition.
- Synonyms:
- sickly
-
symptomatic of or resulting from bad health.
an unhealthy pallor.
-
not conducive to good health; unhealthful.
Night air was formerly considered unhealthy.
- Synonyms:
- deleterious, unhygienic
-
morally bad, harmful, or contaminating.
unhealthy examples for the young.
-
dangerous; risky.
Asking questions in this neighborhood can be unhealthy.
adjective
-
characterized by ill-health; sick; unwell
-
characteristic of, conducive to, or resulting from ill-health
an unhealthy complexion
an unhealthy atmosphere
-
morbid or unwholesome
-
informal dangerous; risky
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unhealthy
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.
See Examples For:
Low testosterone can contribute to several health problems, and an unhealthy diet may make some of those risks even worse.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026
Dafydd encouraged people to seek help if its starts to become an unhealthy relationship to ensure you are "channelling your energy in the right way".
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
"As life evolves and as a society we're exposed to more things to do, more ways to be engaged, there are more opportunities for unhealthy relationships develop."
From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026
Singapore's air pollution surged to 251 on IQAir's Air Quality Index level into very unhealthy levels at around 0400 GMT on Friday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
On and on, Mama listened, spoke her mind, Mama who had always said that all this talking of Minerva’s was unhealthy.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Previous studies have shown that getting too little sleep can drive people toward unhealthier eating patterns, often higher in fat and sugar.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2025
The only sign that L.A.’s waters could be unhealthier than other coastal stretches this year was an unusually high spike of Pseudo-nitzschia in March at the Santa Monica Pier, Anderson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2025
Mohiuddin says he’s concerned that overtampering with the pig genome could lead to unhealthier pigs and lower-performing donor kidneys.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 11, 2023
But ShareAction said it also wanted Nestle to reduce the amount of unhealthier foods it sells.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2023
You say, we are likely to grow weaklier, unhealthier.
From Sanitary and Social Lectures, etc by Charles Kingsley
Several factors have led to this remarkable change, which has helped turn the U.S. into one of the unhealthiest countries among the world’s advanced economies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2025
Grande said they were "comparing my current body" to "the unhealthiest version of my body".
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2023
"It's ironic because I was my thinnest when I was my unhealthiest," they said.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2022
Both promoted self-care as a critical component of their platforms, the notion being that an activist community is only as healthy as its unhealthiest member.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2022
For lack of energetic men in authority to deal with them, the border robbers plundered while the troops remained cooped up within the unhealthiest station on the list.
From Rung Ho! by Talbot Mundy
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
