Words / C2

SAL-y-uh-t-uh-ree/ˈsæljətəri/

Salutary means beneficial, often as a sharp corrective (formal): a salutary reminder, a salutary shock. Healthy is everyday and wider; salubrious (already in the dictionary) is of a pleasant, healthy place, not of a lesson. Beneficial is the calm twin. Do not call a slogan salutary because it soothes the board.

Meaning

Having a good, often corrective, effect, even if unpleasant (formal).

Examples

• “A salutary audit named the missing date; the slogan did not.”
• “Healthy is everyday. Salubrious is of air and streets (already in C2) — the mix-up. A warning that names the empty n can be salutary and still unkind. Comfort with no date is not a lesson. Write the finding; the benefit is the correction, not the mood.”

Good to know

Beneficial, often as an unpleasant lesson. Everyday: healthy / beneficial. Mix-up: salubrious (healthy place — already in C2). A slogan is not a correction.

Near in meaning

beneficial

New