as in unlawful
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable
an unrighteous act that cannot go unpunished by the congregation
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Recent Examples of unrighteous
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unrighteous
Adjective
-
Federal workers, migrants and transgender troops are among the groups arguing that Trump’s policies are unlawful and will cause irreversible harm if not blocked.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
5 Apr. 2025
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In January, a federal appeals court declared DACA unlawful, but kept the policy in place.—
Nidia Cavazos,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Firms carrying out an immoral contract in court may face other discipline.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2025
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This legislation made its way through Congress back then in part because there was societal acceptance of the false belief that the Chinese were immutably immoral and threatening.—
Agustina Vergara Cid,
Oc Register,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
At the time of Vallow's death, Vallow Daybell was espousing the belief that he was possessed by an evil spirit, the prosecution said.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2025
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Last season, there was an episode that featured an evil streaming executive — who dressed like, kind of looked like and whose name even sounded like Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief creative officer and your boss.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Driven by a religious mandate to purify society by stopping sinful behavior, the AFMRS’s missionaries provided direct outreach to low-income areas.—
Jenna Deep,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 Mar. 2025
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Here's the list of least-to-most sinful states, according to WalletHub: TRAVELERS FLOCK TO TOP RELIGIOUS LANDMARKS DEEMED 'MOST INSTAGRAMMABLE' (iStock) 50.—
Andrea Margolis,
Fox News,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Well, that and 98-mph fastballs and wicked breaking pitches.—
John Romano,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2025
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Chances are its uninhibited critique of privilege, political satire, and wicked social commentary would be softened or edited out.—
Viren Naidu,
IndieWire,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Softened by pride, Amber slinks away herself, albeit much more cutely than Gregory and accompanied by a vicious side-eye.—
Ile-Ife Okantah,
Vulture,
3 Apr. 2025
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Mikal, Tonya and Jason are vicious, screaming and hurling vile truths at one another.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Snow White gets a much more meaningful backstory The original Disney film begins with a few short sentences about how Snow White was forced to work as a scullery maid for her vile stepmother, the Queen.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA TODAY,
21 Mar. 2025
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Newsweek's efforts to politicize the death of these individuals, including the reporter's request to confirm names and locations of death, are vile.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Jack: This is just a bad team that has occasionally had good days.—
The View from the Lane,
New York Times,
5 Apr. 2025
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What happened was my bad behavior and my angst brought the energy finally.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
People.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unrighteous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unrighteous. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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