''unsavory'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

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''unsavory'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260817195045-00-⌔

unsavory - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Adjective

unsavory (comparative more unsavory, superlative most unsavory) (American spelling)

• Not savory; without flavor.
• Of bad taste; distasteful.
  • ✤ The little Pieces of Beef vvere like Plums in our Hodg-podg. Indeed ‘tvvas not fit to be eaten any other vvay; for tho’ it did not ſtink, yet it vvas very unſavory and black, vvithout the leaſt ſign of Fat in it: […]¹
• Making an activity undesirable.
• Disreputable, not respectable, of questionable moral character.
  • ✤ His unsavory reputation as a mobster came back to haunt him when he ran for mayor of New York.
  • ✤ [G]ood ſalt cannot relyſh in ſo vnſauory a mouth, […]²
  • ✤ The case against Khela rested primarily on the testimony of two unsavoury witnesses, [who] had lengthy criminal records and […] were members of a prison-based gang.³

Etymology

From un- + savory.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʌnˈseɪv.əɹ.i/
• Audio (US): 🔊

Printed 2026-08-17.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

1. 1699, William Dampier, chapter I, in Voyages and Descriptions. Vol. II. […], London: […] James Knapton, […], →OCLC, part II (Mr. Dampier’s Voyages to the Bay of Campeachy), page 38: ↩

2. 1580, Iohn Lyly [i.e., John Lyly], “Euphues to Him that was His Philautus”, in Euphues and His England. […], London: […] [Thomas East] for Gabriell Cawood, […], →OCLC, folio 81, verso: ↩

3. 2009 January 22, Morris Fish, “R. v. Khela, 2009 SCC 4”, in CanLII ‎${}^{[1]}$, retrieved 18 March 2025: ↩

Link to original

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