Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🚫 Not allowed food 🤨 Not honest
unkosher

unkosher

8.8
Something that is not honest or proper and looks suspicious
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈkoʊʃər/
  • Informal
translation icon : sospechoso
  • They were suspected of keeping unkosher homes.

Examples

  • The transaction raised some unkosher suspicions among the investigators.

  • Her sudden change of story seemed unkosher to everyone involved in the negotiation.

  • For those wondering about the kosher status of the book, well it isn't officially kosher, but it isn't terribly unkosher.

    Blog text (14)

  • There was something unkosher about how the deal was made, prompting further inquiries.

Synonyms

unethical
vsunkosher
102 4.8

Not right according to moral or professional rules most people accept

covers dishonesty and also suspicious or possibly illegal conduct
unseemly
vsunkosher
33 7.8

Not proper or polite for a situation

applies more to dishonesty or questionable legality than mere indecency
unscrupulous
vsunkosher
25 7.5

A person or company that is not honest and tries to take advantage of others

focuses more on suspicious or legally questionable character than moral failing
untrustworthy
vsunkosher
21 4.8

Not honest or reliable with promises

focuses more on dishonesty or legal suspicion than mere unreliability
untoward
vsunkosher
  • Formal
16 8.9

Not proper or polite and likely to cause trouble

implies dishonest or legally questionable character rather than just inconvenience
untrusty
vsunkosher
  • Archaic
8.9

Not safe to depend on because they may fail or betray you

focuses more on dishonesty or legal doubt rather than simple unreliability

Antonyms

honest
∞ 1.0

Truthful and fair, not cheating or lying

acceptable
477 2.5

Good enough for a particular use or standard

How Suspicious

shady
  • Informal
79 5.5
unkosher
  • Informal
8.8
questionable
176 3.9
fishy
50 4.4
odd
798 1.0

Surface Forms

unkosher positive

Morphology

unkosher = kosher (semi-transparent) = un + kosher

The negative formed from 'kosher' is clear, but the extended, idiomatic meaning 'improper or suspicious' goes beyond the literal dietary sense and requires cultural/figurative inference.

Etymology

Unkosher originally described food, but the parts un- 'not' and kosher from Hebrew kasher 'fit' give a clear memory hook. So when people call a deal or action unkosher, they mean it seems 'not proper' or 'suspicious'.