wholesome

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: whole=some

CIDE DICTIONARY

wholesome, a. [Whole + some; cf. Icel. heilsamr, G. heilsam, D. heilzaam.].

•  Tending to promote health; favoring health; salubrious; salutary.  [1913 Webster]

  "Wholesome thirst and appetite."  [1913 Webster]

  "From which the industrious poor derive an agreeable and wholesome variety of food."  [1913 Webster]
•  Contributing to the health of the mind; favorable to morals, religion, or prosperity; conducive to good; salutary; sound; as, wholesome advice; wholesome doctrines; wholesome truths; wholesome laws.  [1913 Webster]

  "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life."  [1913 Webster]

  "I can not . . . make you a wholesome answer; my wit's diseased."  [1913 Webster]

  "A wholesome suspicion began to be entertained."  [1913 Webster]
•  Sound; healthy.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

wholesome, adj.
1 promoting or indicating physical, mental, or moral health (wholesome pursuits; a wholesome appearance).
2 prudent (wholesome respect).

Derivative

wholesomely adv. wholesomeness n.

Etymology

ME, prob. f. OE (unrecorded) halsum (as WHOLE, -SOME(1))

THESAURUS

wholesome

admissible, all, all in all, all there, altogether, balanced, beneficial, benign, bracing, bunkum, clearheaded, clearminded, cogent, completely, compos mentis, constitutional, credible, curing, entirely, exactly, fit, fully, good, good for, hale, healing, health-enhancing, health-preserving, healthful, healthy, healthy-minded, hygeian, hygienic, in toto, invigorating, just, justifiable, legitimate, logical, lucid, mentally sound, normal, of sound mind, perfectly, plausible, purely, quite, rational, reasonable, refreshing, remedial, restorative, right, roundly, salubrious, salutary, sanative, sanatory, sane, sane-minded, sanitary, sensible, sound, sound-minded, thoroughly, together, tonic, totally, unimpaired, uninjurious, utterly, vulnerary, well, well-argued, well-founded, well-grounded, whole, wholly

ROGET THESAURUS

wholesome

Salubrity

N salubrity, healthiness, fine air, fine climate, eudiometer, hygiene, valetudinarian, valetudinarianism, sanitarian, sanitarium, sanitOrium, salubrious, salutary, salutiferous, wholesome, healthy, healthful, sanitary, prophYlactic, benign, bracing, tonic, invigorating, good for, nutritious, hygeian, hygienic, innoxious, innocuous, innocent, harmless, uninjurious, uninfectious, sanative, restorative, useful.