unholy

[uhn-hoh-lee]

adjective

unholier, unholiest 

1. not holy; not sacred or hallowed.

2. impious; sinful; wicked.

3. Informal.,  dreadful; ungodly.

   They got us out of bed at the unholy hour of three in the morning.

unholy

/ ʌnˈhəʊlɪ /

adjective

1. not holy or sacred

2. immoral or depraved

3. informal,  outrageous or unnatural

   an unholy alliance

Other Word Forms

• unholiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unholy¹

before 1000; Middle English; Old English unhālig (cognate with Dutch onheilig, Old Norse ūheilagr ). See un- ¹, holy

Example Sentences

Combine “There Will Be Blood’s” voracious oil baron and “The Master’s” manipulative spiritual guru with this movie’s America-first nativists and you have Anderson’s unholy trinity of characters who have corrupted our founders’ ideals.

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Another opponent, Lord Patten, branded the bill an "unholy legislative mess" that he said could lead to death becoming the "default solution to perceived suffering".

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Now one of Egypt's most sacred places - revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims - is at the heart of an unholy row over plans to turn it into a new tourism mega-project.

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“You had to pick which side of the contradiction to embrace, or else record the whole unholy snarl itself.”

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My fiancee Roxana qualifies for sainthood because whenever we go out, she must patiently wait for me to get dressed, which takes forever and is accompanied by the unholy sounds of struggle.

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