prohibitive

adjective

pro·​hib·​i·​tive prō-ˈhi-bə-tiv 

prə-

1

: tending to prohibit or restrain

2

: tending to preclude use or purchase

prohibitive costs

3

: almost certain to perform as predicted

a prohibitive favorite

prohibitively adverb

prohibitiveness noun

Examples of prohibitive in a Sentence

the prohibitive cost of rent

Recent Examples on the Web

Torrey Pines is aiming for its seventh straight Open Division title and is a prohibitive favorite. —Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2025

Another report in 2022 found that most Americans, overall, see the benefits of higher education but are concerned about high tuition and student debt — 83% said college costs are prohibitive to low-income students. —Jessica Dickler, CNBC, 18 Mar. 2025

Hoping to counteract prohibitive housing costs, the city’s mayor has also committed to completely phasing out short-term rentals, such as those found on Airbnb, by 2029. —Coke Bartrina, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2025

That and a cost that was prohibitive with desires to address the defence. —Jonas Siegel, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for prohibitive

• inhibitive

Kids Definition

prohibitive

adjective

pro·​hib·​i·​tive prō-ˈhib-ət-iv 

: likely to discourage use or purchase

prohibitive prices

prohibitively adverb