prohibitive
prohibitive Lexical Profile
prohibitive Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
(especially of a price, cost, or condition) excessively high, demanding, or difficult to pay or meet, so as to prevent or discourage purchase or use.
"The prohibitive cost of commercial real estate in the city center forced the small bakery to relocate to the suburbs."
Serving or tending to forbid, prevent, or restrict the use or abuse of something.
"The municipal council enacted prohibitive zoning regulations to protect the historic district from high-rise development."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Prohibitive' typically describes costs, prices, or conditions that are so excessively high or demanding that they effectively prevent an action, whereas 'prohibitory' is reserved for laws, taxes, or decrees that formally forbid something.
• Rhymes for prohibitive
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 15th century from Middle French prohibitif or directly from Latin prohibitivus, from prohibitus, the past participle of prohibere ('to hold back, restrain, or forbid'), composed of pro- ('in front of, away') and habere ('to hold').