Wholesome Meaning
/ˈhoʊl.səm/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjPromoting good physical health and well-being.
adjPromoting moral and mental well-being.
Sentence Examples
Some lectures are not wholesome for children.
She prepares wholesome meals for her family.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
Every Sunday, the family enjoyed a ____ meal of vegetables and grains.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She prefers to cook ____ meals for her family using several fresh and natural ingredients from the local market today.
Word Origin & History
From earlier holesome, from Middle English holsom, holsum, helsum, halsum, from Old English *hālsum, *hǣlsum, from Proto-West Germanic *hailasam, from Proto-Germanic *hailasamaz, equivalent to whole + -some or hale (“healthy”) + -some. Cognate with Saterland Frisian heelsoam, Dutch heilzaam, German Low German heelsaam, German heilsam, Icelandic heilsamur, Norwegian Nynorsk helsesam, Swedish hälsosam (“wholesome”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I prethee go, and get me ſome repaſt,
I care not what, ſo it be holſome foode."
— c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 223, column 2:
"Everything we do is so wholesome."
— 1953, Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton, Roman Holiday, spoken by Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn):
"Though hard, my friends, yet wholesome are the truths, taught in affliction's school, whence the pure soul rises refined, and soars above the world."
— 1750, “Theodora”, Thomas Morell (lyrics), George Frideric Handel (music):
"A wholeſome tongue is a tree of life: but peruerſneſſe therein is a breach in the ſpirit."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 15:4, column 1:
"Sometimes white Lyllies did their Leaves afford,
With wholſom Polly-flow'rs, to mend his homely Board: […]"
— 1697, Virgil, “The Fourth Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 128, lines 195–196:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Every Sunday, the family enjoyed a ____ meal of vegetables and grains.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She prefers to cook ____ meals for her family using several fresh and natural ingredients from the local market today.