unsound
Americanadjective
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not sound; unhealthy, diseased, or disordered, as the body or mind.
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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
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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:
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
She’s right about that, but this manual included some unsound science.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
A charter school also can be denied renewal if it is fiscally unsound, but district staff concluded that, too, was not grounds for denial.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2025
Securo said it appeared Ms Wilga had lost control of the vehicle, which became mechanically unsound and bogged.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2025
His stubby legs were a study in unsound construction, with squarish, asymmetrical “baseball glove” knees that didn’t quite straighten all the way, leaving him in a permanent semicrouch.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
