unholy

[ uhn-hoh-lee ]

adjective

, un·ho·li·er, un·ho·li·est.

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

Derived Forms

• unˈholiness, noun

Other Words From

• un·holi·ness 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

In the world of audiophiles — where provenance is everything and the quest is to get as close to the sound of an album’s original recording as possible — digital is considered almost unholy.

From Washington Post

A week before Christmas, Britain found itself in an unholy mess.

From Quartz

ISIS had summoned him from the Talesh area in the Guilan province north of Tehran, to perform the unholy duty.

From The Daily Beast

This unholy marriage of faux country and pseudo hip-hop is literally the worst of both worlds.

From The Daily Beast

For lack of a better term, it was an animal-hostage video, an unholy new mash-up of internet genres.

From The Daily Beast

To be sure, there is more than enough reality to make the pursuit of peace hit any number of walls, both holy and unholy ones.

From The Daily Beast

Where we had once stood spellbound by the sight of the burning towers, we now listened to the unholy roar of the wind.

From The Daily Beast

This story was a favourite with Abershawe: it afforded him a reliable criterion of his unholy prowess.

From Project Gutenberg

He could see them plainly, and presently he saw the face of Romanoff gloat with a look of unholy joy.

From Project Gutenberg

I shall make an unholy mess of things if I'm left alone, and if you like I'll keep you on here.

From Project Gutenberg

I see men and women of mean estate; selfishness, lust, unholy hate, are strong within you.

From Project Gutenberg

For my true self is as far beyond your unholy touch as though I sat above the stars!

From Project Gutenberg