ˈhōlsəm also -lts- adjective
( often -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English holsom, hoolsom, from hol, hool healthy, entire, whole + -som -some
1. : promoting health or well-being of mind or spirit : tending to moral soundness or vigor : corrective or sanative in effect : beneficial , salutary
passes through the wholesome ordeal of the royal presence, and issues from it free from all taint — W.M.Thackeray
brought these difficult situations into the wholesome light of world public opinion — Huntington Gilchrist
2.
a. : promoting health of body : health-giving : salubrious
perhaps because our sedative airs are more wholesome for those who suffer from high blood pressure — Rebecca West
b. : tending to restore health : curative , remedial
prescribe a wholesome regimen for the convalescents
3.
a. : sound in body, mind, or morals : not sickly, morbid, or diseased : healthy
the wholesome gush of natural feeling — Nathaniel Hawthorne
she may be described as plain in appearance, but with a wholesome air — C.G.Bowers
b. : having the simple health or vigor of normal domesticity
wholesome as the smell of homemade bread just out of the oven — Pamela Taylor
wholesome family life
4.
a. obsolete : seaworthy
b. archaic : safely navigable — used of the sea
5.
a. : having the value of a needed warning : based on well-grounded fear : cautionary , prudent
lived in a wholesome dread of her tempers — T.B.Costain
had too wholesome an awareness of the logical difficulties — Benjamin Farrington
b. : safe
it wouldn't be wholesome for you to go down there — Mark Twain
Synonyms: see healthful , healthy