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

This means finalizing an open banking rule that guarantees every American the right to access and share their financial data without prohibitive fees. —Penny Lee, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

For once, zooming in proves to be prohibitive, only in seeing the scope of this mind-bending tragedy does Greengrass truly find his most important story. —Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2025

That’s due to a combination of cost-prohibitive music rights and clips borrowed from other films and TV series. —Will Harris, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025

The literacy coach’s success at Central is undeniable, but expanding the program to include all the district’s elementary schools in the future would be cost-prohibitive, board Vice President Wilma Vazquez said. —Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 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