- lacking moral, spiritual, ritual, or physical cleanliness
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
un•clean /ʌnˈklin/USA pronunciation
adj., -er, -est.
un•clean•ness, n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- not clean;
dirty. - morally impure:unclean thoughts.
un•clean•ness, n. [uncountable]
un•clean
(un klēn′),USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est.
un•clean′ness, n.
- not clean;
dirty. - morally impure;
evil;
vile:unclean thoughts. - Bible[Chiefly Biblical.]having a physical or moral blemish so as to make impure according to the laws, esp. the dietary or ceremonial laws:an unclean animal; unclean persons.
- Middle English unclene, Old English unclǣne. See un-1, clean bef. 900
- 1. soiled, filthy. 2. base, unchaste, sinful, corrupt, polluted.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
unclean /ʌnˈkliːn/ adj
'unclean' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
dirt
- impure
- slovenly
- taboo
- uncleanly
- contaminate
- defile
- dirty
- foul
- gier-eagle
- insanitation
- nasty
- pollute
- polluted
- uncleanable
- sanitary
- soil
- sordid
- squalid