unsound
Americanadjective
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not sound; unhealthy, diseased, or disordered, as the body or mind.
-
decayed or impaired, as timber or foods; defective.
- Synonyms:
- unwholesome, rotten
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not solid or firm, as foundations.
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not well-founded or valid; fallacious.
an unsound argument.
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easily broken; light.
unsound slumber.
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not financially strong; unreliable.
an unsound corporation.
adjective
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diseased, weak, or unstable
of unsound mind
-
unreliable or fallacious
unsound advice
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lacking solidity, strength, or firmness
unsound foundations
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of doubtful financial or commercial viability
an unsound enterprise
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(of fruit, timber, etc) not in an edible or usable condition
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unsound
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at un- 1, sound 2
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:
The settlement follows a December 2024 cease-and-desist order from US regulators that hit BofA for "unsafe or unsound practices," including failure to timely file suspicious activity reports.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Long before Oz entered politics, for example, he’d been discredited for dispensing a vast array of scientifically unsound medical advice on “The Dr. Oz Show,” which Winfrey’s Harpo Productions co-produced.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Germany is uniquely neurotic about debt and about unsound money.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
She’s right about that, but this manual included some unsound science.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
The booming sales of chemical crabgrass killers are another example of how readily unsound methods catch on.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
At once the unsoundest and the most attractive argument is to be found in the deliberate idealization of particular ages, the thirteenth century in England, for example, or the age of the Antonines.
From New Worlds For Old A Plain Account of Modern Socialism by H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
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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.
