“+ adjective
Etymology: Middle English unholsum, from un- (I) + holsum wholesome
1. : detrimental to physical, mental, or moral well-being : unhealthy
unwholesome food
unwholesome pastimes
keep your soul perpetually in the unwholesome region of remorse — Nathaniel Hawthorne
2.
a. : marked by lack of integrity or dependability : corrupt , unsound
the people muddied … unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers — Shakespeare
wild speculation and unwholesome overexpansion — American Guide Series: North Carolina
b. : offensive to the senses : loathsome , repulsive
bluebottles, swollen and unwholesome , crawled and buzzed — Mary Webb
Synonyms:
unwholesome , morbid , sickly , diseased , and pathological apply to what is unhealthy in various ways; unwholesome applies not only to what is physically and mentally unhealthy but also to what is morally corruptive
an unwholesome diet
an unwholesome environment for children
an aura about him of unwholesome cleverness — J.V.Baker
unwholesome thoughts
an unwholesome exaltation and relaxing revery — P.E.More
morbid applies not only to what is diseased, markedly unwholesome, deranged or similarly abnormal, or notably decadent but also to the fancies, feelings, or behavior resulting from or suggesting such conditions
a morbid condition of the liver
the morbid mental habit of dwelling on death and physical decay
a morbid fascination for crime and violence
sickly applies to what is a sign of or shows signs of marked lack of health, typically wanness, weakness, and marked general and often chronic absence of vigor, robustness, virility; it applies widely, for example to persons, animals, plants, feelings, behavior, and colors
the child was puny, white and sickly, so they sent continually for the doctor — Samuel Butler †1902
movie attendance is at the sickliest level in four years — Wall Street Journal
a dark, tunnellike passage, through which came a deathly, sickly odor — Bram Stoker
the sickly yellow of the sea lamps — Jack London
a sickly smile
sickly vines withering on the trellis
diseased applies not only to what has been attacked by disease but, like morbid , also to what is deranged or similarly abnormal, or markedly unwholesome
a diseased liver
a diseased mind subject to self-deception
the paralysis of a diseased will
pathological applies to physical, mental, or moral conditions which have their origin in disease or marked abnormality
a pathological wasting away
pathological moods of depression
a pathological fear of crowds
almost pathological desire to cling to the ideal of unstained innocence — Charles Weir