-thē, -thi adjective
( -er/-est )
1.
a. : enjoying good health : free from disease : functioning properly or normally in its vital functions
the examination revealed him to be a perfectly healthy man
a healthy body
healthy eyes are a precious possession
a healthy tree
b. : conducive to health : salutary
walk three miles every day … a beastly bore, but healthy — G.S.Patton
his life recently had not been a healthy one — A. Conan Doyle
the healthiest damned island in the Pacific — John Dos Passos
c. : indicating, reflecting, or suggestive of health
a healthy color in his cheeks — Charles Dickens
the healthy smell of grain — T.B.Costain
stretched her arms over her head with a gesture of healthy fatigue — Ellen Glasgow
2.
a. : morally or spiritually wholesome : not sickly, morbid, or sentimental : tending toward or indicating moral health
their principal purpose of giving our children healthy entertainment — Coulton Waugh
that's a good healthy , cynical approach — James Street
healthy vulgarity inseparable from all vital human works — Albert Dasnoy
in healthy reaction to the romantic fustian of the … nineteenth century — Christopher Fry
b. : free from malfunctioning of any kind : viable , prosperous , flourishing , desirable
the restoration of a healthy economy
not a healthy state of affairs
the negative plates are probably defective … requiring an extended period of charging and discharging to put them back in a healthy condition — A.L.Dyke
a healthy book-publishing business — Harry Botsford
c. : productive of good of any kind : positive , beneficial
showed his formidable ships of war … making a very healthy impression — C.S.Forester
the creation of a healthy rivalry between the services — H.B.Hinton
d. : large in quantity or degree : considerable , massive
repairs … account for a healthy bit of income — Bill Wolf
the product carries a healthy price tag — Printers' Ink
e. : vigorous , hearty
a healthy appetite
gives the boat a healthy shove … into deeper water — All Hands
3. : safe — usually used in negative construction
not so healthy to be around … they might take a pop at us — Giorgio De Santillana
not a healthy spot to be in at that time — H.A.Chippendale
Synonyms:
sound , wholesome , robust , hale , well : healthy can imply (1) the possession of full vigor of mind or body or (2) merely freedom from any sign of disease or morbidity
a family with four healthy, active boys
keep a child healthy during the winter
a healthy outlook on life
sound implies more strongly the absence of all defects of mind or body
develop vigorous children, sound in mind and body
sound of limb and healthy of mind
wholesome implies a healthiness that impresses others favorably, especially as indicating physical, moral, or mental soundness or balance
her hair carelessly pinned back, her eyes shining, her face aglow, looking oddly wholesome in a smeared white painter's smock — Herman Wouk
a short strongly made woman, wholesome and still youthful — C.B. Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
robust is the opposite of delicate, implying a vigor manifest in muscularity, solidity, strength of voice, power of endurance, and so on
was looking robust and full of health and vigor — Samuel Butler †1902
robust and tough in fiber — I.A.Gordon
the giant zinnias are so robust here that you can transplant them in full bloom — Barrett McGurn
hale applies chiefly to elderly persons who still retain physical qualities of men in their prime
this particular black panther was not old and sore, like many man-eaters. It was an exceedingly hale animal — David Walker
his father, though an old man, was still hale — Sheila Kaye-Smith
now in his 80th year but still alert, hale and hearty — Wesfarmers News
well merely implies freedom from disease
stay well amidst disease and poverty
seemingly doomed to constant illness, only once in a while did he feel really well
Synonym: see in addition healthful .