What's the opposite of "fresh"? (2025)

Hello everyone,

Is there such a word as 'unfresh' in English. For instance, someone is talking about food that is not fresh, the food that is served in the school canteen.
Here's the sentence:

The food in my school is usually unfresh and bland. No one really likes it.

Can food be referred to as unfresh if it's not fresh?

'Unfresh' isn't English.

What you mean by 'unfresh'? Not made with fresh ingredients (frozen food for example) or stale food left over from the day before?

london calling said:

What you mean by 'unfresh'? Not made with fresh ingredients (frozen food for example) or stale food left over from the day before?

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I don't know. Maybe it's not made with fresh ingredients, or maybe left over from the day before. Anyway, when you eat it, you know that it doesn't taste as good as the fresh food that you've eaten many times before. If there's no such word as 'unfresh', then how could the sentence be changed to convey this meaning that the food served there is not fresh?

Fredziu said:

I don't know. Maybe it's not made with fresh ingredients, or maybe left over from the day before. Anyway, when you eat it, you know that it doesn't taste as good as the fresh food that you've eaten many times before. If there's no such word as 'unfresh', then how could the sentence be changed to convey this meaning that the food served there is not fresh?

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You can say “It tastes bad” or use words like stale, bland or inedible tasteless or nasty. It really depends on what idea you want to get across.

The food in my school is usually unfresh and bland. No one really likes it.​

Even if there were such a word as unfresh, its intended meaning in that sentence would not be obvious.

One opposite of fresh food is processed food, such as food that’s tinned or frozen or vacuum-packed for long life. But that type of food would not necessarily be bland.

KsuKrazy said:

You can say “It tastes bad” or use words like stale, bland or inedible tasteless or nasty.

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"It tastes bad" doesn't mean the same thing - a dish prepared from fresh ingredients could also taste bad just because it has been ruined in some way, for example because it has too much salt in it. I can't say it's inedible because lots of people eat it. When my wife makes dinner, and there's still some left the next day, I will eat it without any problems, but I can't say it's as good as it was the day before when I ate right after it was prepared. It's just not as fresh as it was earlier.

lingobingo said:

The food in my school is usually unfresh and bland. No one really likes it.​

Even if there were such a word as unfresh, its intended meaning in that sentence would not be obvious.

One opposite of fresh food is processed food, such as food that’s tinned or frozen or vacuum-packed for long life.

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Exactly what we were saying above, but apparently the OP doesn't know what was meant by 'unfresh'.Hence my suggestion It doesn't taste fresh. Ambiguous, just like the original.

Fredziu said:

"It tastes bad" doesn't mean the same thing - a dish prepared from fresh ingredients could also taste bad just because it has been ruined in some way, for example because it has too much salt in it. I can't say it's inedible because lots of people eat it. When my wife makes dinner, and there's still some left the next day, I will eat it without any problems, but I can't say it's as good as it was the day before when I ate right after it was prepared. It's just not as fresh as it was earlier.

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Okay, I understand what you mean. We say the same thing in Russian. However, there is no such word as “unfresh” in English, and, therefore, we need to find other ways to convey the idea.

My food smells funny. Do you think it’s gone off?

How about this one?

Btw, we can use “old”. It means that it is still edible but is not freshly cooked. E.g. day-old pizza.

london calling said:

It doesn't taste fresh

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Thank you, london calling, and thank you all for your help!

KsuKrazy said:

My food smells funny. Do you think it’s gone off?

How about this one?

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I don't think he means that the food at school is off, just that either it's from the day before or isn't prepared using fresh ingredients. No-one really likes it is not a comment you would make if you were served rotting food.

The food in my school is usually unfresh and bland. No one really likes it

london calling said:

I don't think he means that the food at school is off, just that either it's from the day before or isn't prepared using fresh ingredients. No-one really likes it is not a comment you would make if you were served rotting food.

The food in my school is usually unfresh and bland. No one really likes it

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In #8 Fredziu explains that it isn’t freshly cooked, but you still can eat it. They probably use day-old ingredients or some left-overs to cook new dishes.

KsuKrazy said:

In #8 Fredziu explains that it isn’t freshly cooked, but you still can eat it. They probably use day-old ingredients or some left-overs to cook new dishes.

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You said 'gone off'. That means decomposed/rotting. That certainly isn't what was meant.

london calling said:

You said 'gone off'. That means decomposed/rotting. That certainly isn't what was meant.

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Yes, that’s right. That was one of the suggestions. The other one was that ingredients were old.

Sorry, I just got you confused by my messages. What I meant is I agree with you

KsuKrazy said:

In #8 Fredziu explains that it isn’t freshly cooked, but you still can eat it.

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That was just an additional example, KsuKrazy . It isn't known whether the meals at the school canteen are freshly cooked, but from ingredients that are not fresh, or cooked much earlier and then warmed up again. But one thing is certain - they do not taste fresh .

Fredziu said:

That was just an additional example, KsuKrazy . It isn't known whether the meals at the school canteen are freshly cooked, but from ingredients that are not fresh, or cooked much earlier and then warmed up again. But one thing is certain - they do not taste fresh .

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I got this

It is just your original sentences was a bit confusing.

I think you can use day-old