Unsavory

//ʌnˈseɪv.əɹ.i// adj

adj ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not savory; without flavor. US
  2. 2
    Of bad taste; distasteful. US

    "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: […]"

  3. 3
    Making an activity undesirable. US
  4. 4
    Disreputable, not respectable, of questionable moral character. US

    "His unsavory reputation as a mobster came back to haunt him when he ran for mayor of New York."

Adjective
  1. 1
    morally offensive wordnet
  2. 2
    not pleasing in odor or taste wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
amoralbitterblandconsciencelesscorruptcorrupted

Example

More examples

"There were some unsavory rumors about him."

Etymology

From un- + savory.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.