unsavory
English
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[edit]Etymology
[edit]Etymology tree
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]unsavory (comparative more unsavory, superlative most unsavory) (American spelling)
- Not savory; without flavor.
- Of bad taste; distasteful.
- 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:
- 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: […]
- 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.
- 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:
- [G]ood ſalt cannot relyſh in ſo vnſauory a mouth, […]
- 2009 January 22, Morris Fish, “R. v. Khela, 2009 SCC 4”, in CanLII[1], retrieved 18 March 2025:
- 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.
Derived terms
[edit]Collocations
[edit]with nouns
- unsavory reputation
- unsavory character
- unsavory aspect
- unsavory element
- unsavory practice
- unsavory friend
- unsavory tactics
- unsavory food
- unsavory witness
Translations
[edit]distasteful — see distasteful
making an activity undesirable
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disreputable
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Categories:
- English terms prefixed with un- (negative)
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *né
- English 4-syllable words
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