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
- unhealthily adverb
- unhealthiness noun
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.
Stage 2, very unhealthy — keep the kids inside.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
That’s worrisome to him, given the cost of GLP-1s — both to patients and the system — and that not all people who are currently considered overweight or obese are unhealthy.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 18, 2026
Lifestyle matters too: if a patient's diet remains unhealthy, the drug alone may not be enough.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
“In our experience, quarterly earnings guidance often leads to an unhealthy focus on short-term profits at the expense of long-term strategy, growth and sustainability,” Buffett and Dimon said.
From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026
Popular folklore suggested that such an abundance of pigeons always brought with it unhealthy air and sickness.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
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.
