unrighteous

adjective

un·​righ·​teous ˌən-ˈrī-chəs How to pronounce unrighteous (audio)
1
: not righteous : sinful, wicked
2
: unjust, unmerited
intolerable and unrighteous interference in their livesW. W. Wagar
unrighteously adverb
unrighteousness noun

Examples of unrighteous in a Sentence

an unrighteous act that cannot go unpunished by the congregation
Recent Examples on the Web Spears writes of these unrighteous men matter-of-factly, avoiding the ad hominem attack, except for an occasional delicious arrow, including a recollection of the eternally white Timberlake meeting one of his rap heroes. Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 24 Oct. 2023 He’s gone through buzzard-hot streaks and some slumps, at times taking wholly unrighteous shots, and none of that matters to the shooting guard. Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 23 Apr. 2021 Christ himself suffered on account of sins, once for all, the righteous one on behalf of the unrighteous. Olivia Muenter, Woman's Day, 8 Feb. 2023 The millions who tune in to Carlson every night to get their outrage on should remember what their favorite host traffics in: bloviation, demagoguery and unrighteous indignation. Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2022 Many people, after all, think that the righteous should prosper and the unrighteous not. Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 27 July 2021 As with all fan bases, there are exceptions, a troubled few who have lost their minds over their fanaticism for a team that on the whole has deserved their righteous support, but not their unrighteous idiocy. Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 Mar. 2021 An early episode in this cycle played out in the seemingly unrighteous realm of Hollywood backstage drama. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 16 June 2020 Brief letter from the soldiers of Islamic State in the land of Andalus for the crusaders, the hateful, the sinful, the unrighteous, the corrupting ones. Jeannette Neumann, WSJ, 23 Aug. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unrighteous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of unrighteous was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near unrighteous

Cite this Entry

“Unrighteous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unrighteous. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

unrighteous

adjective
un·​righ·​teous ˌən-ˈrī-chəs How to pronounce unrighteous (audio)
ˈən-
1
: not righteous : sinful, wicked
2
: unjust
unrighteously adverb
unrighteousness noun

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