unwholesome
/ˌənˈhoʊlsəm/
"unwholesome" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“unwholesome” is an uncommon English word, ranked #80,999 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #80,999
- frequency rank, English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Not wholesome; unfavorable to health; unhealthful.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | unwholesome |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˌənˈhoʊlsəm/ |
| Letters | 11 |
| Frequency rank | #80,999 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “unwholesome” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for unwholesome is 11 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌənˈhoʊlsəm/. Corpus data places it at rank #80,999 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for unwholesome, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English unholsom; equivalent to un- + wholesome. The correct English form is unwholesome, spelled U-N-W-H-O-L-E-S-O-M-E.
Definition
- 1Not wholesome; unfavorable to health; unhealthful.
- 2Not sound; tainted; defective.
- 3Indicating unsound health; characteristic of or suggesting an unsound condition, physical or mental; repulsive; offensive.
Etymology
From Middle English unholsom; equivalent to un- + wholesome.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “unwholesome”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is U-N-W-H-O-L-E-S-O-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌənˈhoʊlsəm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.