2 syllables: un, wholesome. Stress on wholesome.
uhn-HOHL-suhm
/ˌʌnˈhoʊlsəm/
unwholesome is pronounced uhn-HOHL-suhm (/ˌʌnˈhoʊlsəm/). It has two syllables (un-wholesome), with the stress on "wholesome". Unwholesome is an adjective describing something—often behavior or substances—that is unhealthy, morally questionable, or harmful. It implies a lack of wholesomeness, evoking negative connotations and a sense of moral or physical danger. The term is formal to neutral in tone and is commonly used in literary or evaluative contexts.
Unwholesome is an adjective describing something—often behavior or substances—that is unhealthy, morally questionable, or harmful. It implies a lack of wholesomeness, evoking negative connotations and a sense of moral or physical danger. The term is formal to neutral in tone and is commonly used in literary or evaluative contexts.
- You may misplace stress on the first syllable: ensure primary stress on the second syllable: un-WHOLE-some. - Vowel confusion in the root: avoid /ɒ/ or /æ/ in /hoʊl/; use the long /oʊ/ in US and /əʊ/ in UK/AU. - Final consonant clarity: keep a clear /s/ before the /əm/; don’t=give a weak /s/ sound or merge into /m/.
"The rumor about the unwholesome deal raised concerns among the community."
"Her unwholesome diet led to ongoing health problems."
"The film’s unwholesome themes made some viewers uncomfortable."
You say /ˌənˈhoʊls(ə)m/ in US and /ˌənˈhəʊls(ə)m/ in UK. The stress falls on the second syllable, 'WHOLE' as a primary anchor, followed by a subtle /səm/ ending. Start with a light, short /ə/ after un-, then /hoʊl/ with the long O, then /səm/, keeping the final /m/ soft. Listen to /ˌənˈhoʊls(ə)m/ in connected speech to hear the rhythm. Audio reference: try listening to pronunciations on Forvo or YouGlish: “unwholesome.”
Common errors: misplacing the stress (putting it on the first syllable), saying /ˌɪnˈwɒlˌsoʊm/ with wrong vowel in the root, or dropping the /h/ after un- (unwolesome). Correction: place primary stress on the second syllable: /ˌənˈhoʊl(s)əm/. Keep the /h/ audible after un- and pronounce wholesome as /ˈhoʊls(ə)m/ with a clear /hoʊl/ and a schwa-ish final. Practice slowly, then speed up while maintaining the /hoʊl/ chunk.
In US, you’ll hear /ˌənˈhoʊlsəm/ with rhoticity and a full /r/-less in the word. UK tends to /ˌənˈhəʊls(ə)m/ with less rhotic influence, a rounded /əʊ/ diphthong, and a crisper ending. Australian pronounces /ˌənˈhəʊls(ə)m/ similar to UK but with slightly broader vowel qualities and a more centralized final vowel. Overall: US emphasizes /hoʊl/ clearly and keeps /ɹ/ absent; UK/AU show a tighter, more clipped /həʊl/ and a lighter final /m/.
Because it stacks a prefix with a long-root vowel: un- + wholesome, then the sequence /ˈhoʊl/ followed by /səm/. The primary challenge is maintaining the long /oʊ/ in /hoʊl/ while transitioning quickly to /səm/ without creating a hiatus. Also, keeping the /h/ aspirated after un- and not eliding the /s/ into the final nasal requires precise timing. Listen to native samples and practice chunking: un- / hoʊl / sem.
You do not pronounce the 'w' as a separate sound; it’s part of the sequence un- + wholesome. The word begins with /ʌ/ or /ən/ as a schwa-inflected prefix; the /w/ participates in the /hoʊl/ part if the speaker merges sounds, but the standard IPA rendering does not isolate a /w/ consonant. In careful speech you’ll hear the onset /ən-/ then /hoʊl/; casually you may sound like /ənhoʊlsəm/, with the /w/ effectively merged into the /hoʊl/ cluster.
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- US: rhoticity is minimal in this word; ensure /r/ is not pronounced. Focus on the clear /hoʊl/ with a stronger diphthong; keep final /səm/ distinct. - UK: /həʊ/ vowel in /hoʊl/ is more rounded; avoid over-diphthongizing; keep non-rhotic. - AU: similar to UK but slightly broader vowel qualities; maintain the /səm/ ending and keep the /h/ aspirated after un-. IPA cues: US /ˌənˈhoʊlsəm/, UK /ˌənˈhəʊls(ə)m/, AU /ˌənˈhəʊls(ə)m/.
Unwholesome combines the prefix un- (expressing negation) with wholesome, from Old English hal (hale, healthy) + wares (goods, possessions) in compound form. Wholesome traces to Middle English wholesome, from Old English halwes, related to hale and health. The prefix un- has a long history in English for negation and indicates a reversal of a quality. Historically, un- attached to various adjectives and participles to signal opposite meaning. The sense of unwholesome as “not conducive to health or moral goodness” emerged in Early Modern English as discourse around health, morality, and social conduct intensified. By the 16th–18th centuries, unwholesome appeared in prose describing food, air, or behavior that damaged or corrupted. The word has retained a formal prior-tone usage, often in literary or evaluative registers, though it is still common in journalism and academic writing when condemning harmful influences. The semantic extension to “morally questionable” reflects broader cultural associations between health and virtue, with “unwholesome” frequently used to describe ideas, media, or environments that threaten well-being. First known uses appear in early dictionaries and theological writings that linked physical health with moral virtue, evolving to a more general negative descriptor in contemporary usage.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "unwholesome" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "unwholesome"
-ome sounds
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