unholy

CEFRB2

/ʌnˈhəʊli/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
adjective
Not holy, religious, or morally good.
02
adjective
Extra detail
Dreadful, terrible, excessive, or otherwise atrocious.

Examples

Begone, wretched spawn of Hell's unholy bowels!
Sami embodied that unholy mix of holy water and drugs.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses: 3
Parts of speech: 1
Citations: 3
Synonyms: 5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meaning

Not holy; (by extension) evil, impure, or otherwise perverted.

More examples

In context

I've been spending an unholy amount of time trying to write a novel!
The priest's unholy behaviour brought the church into disrepute.
What an unholy mess your room is in!

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

The dark magic and evil spells created an blank presence in the temple.

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Nearby

Citations

The word in print, with each source given in full.

Presently, however, this pleasing piece was interrupted. Suddenly there was a slight commotion, and a large powerful woman, whom I had noted as one of the most vigorous of the dancers, came, made mad and drunken with unholy excitement, bounding and staggering towards us, shrieking out as she came: - `I want a Black Goat, I must have a Black Goat, bring me a Black Goat!' and down she fell upon the rocky floor foaming and writhing, and shrieking for a Black Goat, about as hideous a spectacle as can well be conceived.
1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC
Essentially, the problem dates back to pre-privatisation, cost-driven British Rail practices which featured an unholy pact between management and unions, whereby management was able to employ fewer drivers and limited pension cost liabilities, while drivers were able to hoover up lots of lucrative Sunday overtime.
2022 November 16, Nigel Harris, “Endless news... little context”, in RAIL, number 970, page 3
“Florida has struck an unholy bargain with the Trump administration,” one speaker said. “People are not getting food, hygiene, or medical care. These conditions are substandard and cause irreparable harm.”
2025 August 1, Jamie Guirola, “'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees on hunger strike for 10th day, protesting conditions”, in NBC News, archived from the original on 08 Aug 2025

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Origin

adjective

From Middle English unholi, unhaliȝ, from Old English unhāliġ, from Proto-Germanic *unhailagaz, equivalent to un- + holy. Cognate with Scots unhaly, Dutch onheilig, German Low German unhillig, German unheilig, Danish uhellig, Swedish ohelig.

Deep Dive

adjective

More examples

Related

Quick test

The dark magic and evil spells created an blank— presence in the temple.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

The dark magic and evil spells created an blank presence in the temple.