Unwholesome Meaning
/ˌənˈhoʊlsəm/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjNot wholesome; unfavorable to health; unhealthful.
adjNot sound; tainted; defective.
Sentence Examples
The air in the small room felt stale and unwholesome after hours.
An unwholesome activity is one that is not healthy for the mind.
The restaurant was closed for serving unwholesome food to customers.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ food contained too much sugar and no real nutrients at all.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The researchers warned that the ____ atmosphere in the office was leading to a decrease in the team's overall morale today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English unholsom; equivalent to un- + wholesome.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Caliban: As wicked dewe, as ere my mother bruſh'd / With Rauens feather from vnwholeſome Fen / Drop on you both : A Southweſt blow on yee, / And bliſter you all ore."
— 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 4:
"Alas! he mastered not his destiny: I have said before, his ashes are in yonder urn. A few unwholesome dews on a summer night were mightier than all his science."
— 1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833, The Enchantress, page 17:
"There was something indefinably unwholesome about him. Something lean and snakelike."
— 2022, Ian McEwan, Lessons, page 184:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ food contained too much sugar and no real nutrients at all.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The researchers warned that the ____ atmosphere in the office was leading to a decrease in the team's overall morale today.