How to Use unsavory in a Sentence

unsavory

adjective
  • He is an unsavory character.
  • Don’t use this trick to try and mask unsavory odors in the glass.
    — Michael Austin, chicagotribune.com, 28 Feb. 2018
  • A lot of her actions so far have been unsavory to say the least.
    — Liza Esquibias, People.com, 17 June 2025
  • Next in line is one of the more unsavory creatures on the list.
    — Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Why weren’t these unsavory tactics nipped in the bud?
    — Bea L. Hines, Miami Herald, 13 Feb. 2026
  • So now there’s no shortage of unsavory men scheming to take the crates.
    — David Martindale, star-telegram.com, 23 May 2017
  • Electoral headlines for the past few weeks have been unsavory.
    — Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2024
  • The updates are aimed at cleaning up some of the more unsavory app practices on the store.
    — Wired, 1 Aug. 2022
  • At times, our fear of an unsavory outcome can feel permanent, and that’s not the case.
    — Dominique Fluker, Essence, 11 Oct. 2023
  • Cast iron pans get used for melting lead, catching oil, and other unsavory things.
    — Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 12 Feb. 2025
  • In the show, as in life, such unsavory impulses extend not just to the staff but to the user base.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 17 May 2026
  • That soon changed as the less affluent began to chafe at their high prices and unsavory practices.
    — Peter Schwartzstein, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2020
  • Watson settled the unsavory claims and served a suspension from the league over it.
    — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 6 Jan. 2025
  • And while the unsavory cloud will linger a while longer, the first steps toward normalcy were taken.
    — Michael Cohen, Detroit Free Press, 23 Feb. 2022
  • The enclave earned its name from snake oil peddlers and far more unsavory characters.
    — Hunter Boyce, ajc, 25 July 2022
  • If that is too unsavory, Biden can look to Ronald Reagan’s record.
    — The Editors, National Review, 29 Jan. 2024
  • And there are some pages that only now, in these unsavory times, suddenly take on the full depth of their meaning.
    — Amos Oz, Harper's magazine, 10 Apr. 2019
  • The scene involves an unsavory routine on how to recognize a shoplifter.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2026
  • There were a few too many unsavory people in the outer rings of the inner circle, there was too much chaos swirling around her.
    — Jonathan Van Meter, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2024
  • Still other unsavory details have emerged.
    — Anna Russell, New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2026
  • At his heart, the complicated Bug is a good man who will take unsavory actions.
    — Oline H. Cogdill Sun Sentinel, Star Tribune, 3 Aug. 2020
  • All the drivers were in a trailer with the Pacers watching a movie, an unsavory movie.
    — Dana Hunsinger Benbow, The Indianapolis Star, 20 May 2021
  • Rios was going through a bitter divorce, and his soon-to-be ex-wife was tied to a cast of unsavory characters.
    — Megan Cassidy, azcentral, 23 Apr. 2017
  • There is something unsavory, even sickly about the artist, something not entirely on the side of life.
    — New York Times, 17 Sep. 2021
  • At the very least, the team should not have helped Watson in his unsavory activities.
    — Terry Pluto, cleveland, 15 July 2022
  • But on Nickelodeon, the league’s most unsavory realities are kept out by a moat of slime.
    — Jake Nevins, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2022
  • For better or worse, the bid will be won with jet-setting around the world to wine and dine some of world sport’s most unsavory characters.
    — Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com, 19 Mar. 2018
  • Counting dead birds is just the type of repetitive, unsavory task that AI was made for.
    — Daniel Oberhaus, Wired, 10 Aug. 2020
  • That means the toothpaste isn’t just covering up bad breath with a strong minty flavor but fighting unsavory smells at the source.
    — Isabella Ubaldi, Verywell Health, 19 Apr. 2024
  • What the bad thing is has not yet been revealed, but if something unsavory happens to this kid … Shyamalan, watch your back!
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2022

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

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