inhospitable

adjective

in·​hos·​pi·​ta·​ble ˌin-(ˌ)hä-ˈspi-tə-bəl  (ˌ)in-ˈhä-(ˌ)spi- 

1

: not showing hospitality : not friendly or receptive

2

: providing no shelter or sustenance

an inhospitable environment

inhospitableness noun

inhospitably

ˌin-(ˌ)hä-ˈspi-tə-blē 

(ˌ)in-ˈhä-(ˌ)spi-

adverb

Synonyms of inhospitable

• hostile
• negative

Examples of inhospitable in a Sentence

It's very inhospitable of him to be so rude to strangers.

the proposal received an unexpectedly inhospitable response from the city council

Recent Examples on the Web

In the mid-19th century, a family of Dutch-Afrikaans homesteaders sets out to cross the inhospitable terrain of the Kalahari Desert along with their backer, a boorish Brit whose avarice and bigotry loom large over the journey. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 15 July 2026

That said, in some years Apple has introduced a neat extra which may be useful if this time means an inhospitable hour. — David Phelan, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

One key to removing them from your garden is to make their habitat inhospitable by removing low-hanging leaves, rocks and weeds that provide that shade. — Alora Bopray, USA Today, 7 July 2026

The remote, inhospitable terrain serves as a natural biological barrier, though hundreds of thousands of migrants traverse the gap every year. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 7 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1570, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

inhospitable

adjective

in·​hos·​pi·​ta·​ble ˌin-(ˌ)häs-ˈpit-ə-bəl  (ˈ)in-ˈhäs-(ˌ)pit- 

1

: not friendly or generous : not showing hospitality

2

: providing no shelter or food : barren

an inhospitable desert

inhospitably

-blē 

adverb

inhospitality

(ˌ)in-ˌhäs-pə-ˈtal-ət-ē

noun