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First off, I'm not a native speaker but this question isn't about the rules themselves but rather usage in the USA.

I learnt that you should say 'unhealthier' (and the Oxford + Longman dictionaries I looked up back me up), but an acquaintance of mine (native speaker) told me to change because it was wrong, it should be 'more unhealthy'. When I pointed out the dictionary backs 'unhealthier', he dismissed the issue as both being accepted but 'more' is still the preferred option in the States and that I should still change.

So what's the story? Are both academically accepted (this person writes/speaks in a very informal way)? Is 'more unhealthy' really so preferred in the States that 'unhealthier' becomes deprecated?

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I haven't found any source that states that unhealthier is deprecated or informal. What it is is unusual. The phrasing more unhealthy is certainly also acceptable, and apparently more commonly used. I think you may be misreading your dictionaries; the fact that a form in -er is listed only means it is possible, not that it is recommended. Your acquaintance is correct to say that "both [are] accepted but 'more' is still the preferred option in the States." Of course, different people have different preferences, and some people may prefer to use a form with -er or -est if it exists and sounds natural to them.

It's true that most adjectives with three syllables or more do not use the inflectional suffixes -er and -est. However, there is an exception for some three-syllable adjectives with the prefix un- and the suffix -y (See slide 6 here: Comparative And Superlative Adjectives, or this page that describes such words as "well-formed"). Other possible words like this are unhappier, unluckier.

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  • The fact that a form in -er is listed (sans caveat) in a respectable dictionary means that a significant number of people use it, not just that it is in the lexicon. And this fulfils what I consider one condition of 'wordness'. // Good examples showing exceptions to the rule of thumb.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    May 17 at 10:11
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  • Unhealthier (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition) (from FDOL).
  • Unhealthier (Collins English Dictionary - 12th Edition 2014) (from FDOL) (also from Reverso.net).
  • Unhealthier (Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, 2010) (from FDOL).
  • Unhealthier ("Evidence from Social Psychology - Materialistic people are unhealthier" - 2012 Presentation of F. Sarracino from STATEC, Luxembourg).
  • Unhealthier ("... light favours unhealthier products over quality products ..." from a speech at the European Parliament on 16 June 2010.)
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  • 3
    The presence of a term in a dictionary is not guidance.
    – Lambie
    Feb 3, 2016 at 23:29
  • @Lambie. I agree with you, of course. That's why I mentioned three dictionaries.
    – alsa
    Feb 27, 2016 at 16:58

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