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

Air-gapped sovereign AI has traditionally been cost-prohibitive and difficult to manage. — Karan Alang, Forbes.com, 6 Nov. 2026

Remember, the Cubs were prohibitive favorites to win the division but finished 14 games behind the Brewers. — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 1 Nov. 2026

Filing those suits, which can run up $10,000-$50,000 in legal fees, is cost-prohibitive for many businesses. — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2026

After all, no company wants to buy the first few that are economically prohibitive, so the Army is jumping in financially and then helping the economies of scale take over. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026

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