unwholesome
/ʌnˈhəʊls(ə)m
/adjective
Not characterized by or conducive to health or moral well-being: the use of the living room as sleeping quarters led to unwholesome crowding...
- Given the overall deftness of direction and performance, one expects Irma Vep to be a highlight of the season - good, unwholesome larky fun.
- Meditation simply means cultivating a wholesome and sane habit, which becomes an antidote for the unwholesome, confused, destructive habits that we have developed.
- The same author comments that quail were not eaten much in classical times, apparently because they were thought to be unwholesome because of eating poisonous plants such as hellebore.
Synonyms
unhealthy, noxious, poisonous;
unnourishing, innutritious;
insalubrious, unhygienic, insanitary;
harmful, injurious, detrimental, destructive, damaging, deleterious, ruinous, malign, baleful
improper, immoral, indecent, corrupting, depraving, salacious, subversive, exploitative
Derivatives
unwholesomely
- Her first feature, La Ciénaga, or The Swamp, exuded a fetid, toxic atmosphere: a film on the verge of swooning, overcome by its own unwholesomely sensual fumes.
- There's something unwholesomely endearing here, and her portrayal is rather like the sound of nails on a chalkboard come to life.
- In 1883, a social reformer complained that ‘the cities grow, unwholesomely crowding people together till they are packed in tiers, family above family, so are they [also] unwholesomely separated in the country.’
unwholesomeness
- They may recognize unwholesomeness when it is coarse, but not when it is more subtle.
- While he was the foil to the unwholesomeness of Thorton's mall Santa in this film, here he gets to let loose as a foul-mouthed elf that incredibly almost rivals Thorton's vulgar performance.
- But as with any positive idea, there is simultaneously the potential for unwholesomeness, a shadow side, where caution is necessary and where there is tremendous potential for abuse.