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

• 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 Saturation Point, Dr. Jasmine Marks leads a search and rescue mission into ‘The Zone’, a section of rainforest along the equator with a climate inhospitable to intelligent life. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 30 June 2025

Directed by Gareth Edwards from a script by David Koepp, Jurassic World Rebirth picks up five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion at a time when the planet’s ecology has proven largely inhospitable to dinosaurs. —Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 2 June 2025

The film centers on Dr. Jasmine Marks, who leads a search and rescue mission into The Zone — a section of rainforest along the equator with a climate inhospitable to intelligent life. —Angelique Jackson, Variety, 30 June 2025

But modern-day Earth’s atmosphere has proved inhospitable to the creatures, with many dying out or migrating to a tropical band around the equator that resembles their native Mesozoic Era climate. —David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 30 June 2025

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