Standard Lemma guide

healthful

adj · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: HH EH1 L TH F AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Beneficial to bodily health.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Conducive to moral or spiritual prosperity; salutary.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Synonym of healthy (“evincing health”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: healthy

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

conducive to good health of body or mind

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a healthful climate
  • a healthful environment
  • healthful nutrition
  • healthful sleep
  • Dickens's relatively healthful exuberance

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: unhealthful

5

adjective

Meaning 5

free from filth and pathogens

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • sanitary conditions for preparing food
  • a sanitary washroom

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sanitary

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English helthful, helþful, helþeful, equivalent to health + -ful.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: здравословен (zdravosloven) — beneficial to health
  • Chinese Mandarin: 健康 (jiànkāng) — beneficial to health
  • Czech: zdravý — beneficial to health
  • Dutch: gezond — beneficial to health
  • Finnish: terveellinen — beneficial to health
  • French: sain — beneficial to health
  • Galician: saudable — beneficial to health
  • Galician: san — beneficial to health
  • German: gesund — beneficial to health
  • Greek: υγιεινός (ygieinós) — beneficial to health
  • Japanese: 健康的な (kenkōteki na) — beneficial to health
  • Latin: sanus — beneficial to health
  • Latvian: veselīgs — beneficial to health
  • Lithuanian: sveikas — beneficial to health
  • Lithuanian: sveikatingas — beneficial to health
  • Macedonian: здрав (zdrav) — beneficial to health
  • Mizo: hrisël — beneficial to health
  • Polish: zdrowy — beneficial to health
  • Portuguese: saudável — beneficial to health
  • Russian: поле́зный для здоро́вья (poléznyj dlja zdoróvʹja) — beneficial to health
  • Russian: поле́зный (poléznyj) — beneficial to health
  • Russian: здоро́вый (zdoróvyj) — beneficial to health
  • Serbo-Croatian: здра̏в — beneficial to health
  • Serbo-Croatian: zdrȁv — beneficial to health
  • Slovene: zdrav — beneficial to health
  • Spanish: saludable — beneficial to health
  • Spanish: sano — beneficial to health
  • Spanish: salutífero — beneficial to health
  • Welsh: iachusol — beneficial to health