unrighteous

[ uhn-rahy-chuhs ]

adjective

1. not righteous; not upright or virtuous; wicked; sinful; evil:

   an unrighteous king.

2. not in accordance with right or justice; unfair or unjust:

   an unrighteous law.

unrighteous

/ ʌnˈraɪtʃəs /

adjective

1. 1. sinful; wicked
   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      the unrighteous

2. not fair or right; unjust

Derived Forms

• unˈrighteously, adverb
• unˈrighteousness, noun

Other Words From

• un·righteous·ly adverb
• un·righteous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unrighteous¹

before 900; Middle English unrightwyse, Old English unrihtwīs. See un- ¹, righteous

Example Sentences

“And for someone to come in and try to rob us of our livelihood and take it from us, for their own profit, it’s unrighteous. I mean, it’s just criminal.”

From Los Angeles Times

After the incident, Mr Melikov said that "all Dagestanis empathise with the suffering of victims by the actions of unrighteous people" but described the events at the airport as "outrageous".

From BBC

To curators and historians, the evolving meaning of our objects is far more fascinating than whom they label as unrighteous.

From New York Times

Many people, after all, think that the righteous should prosper and the unrighteous not.

From New York Times

“But we need to pay more attention to these unrighteous things.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• devilish
• evil
• impish
• mischievous
• nasty
• naughty
• vicious
• villainous
• wayward