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

The price tag is prohibitive for many, so Glass recently turned her group into a non-profit, hoping to offer grants to lower-income men. — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 21 June 2026

For small hospitals, the financial burden of maintaining obstetric services can be prohibitive. — Jocelyn Mitchell-Williams, STAT, 19 June 2026

No road closures are scheduled, but high traffic volume, motorcades, special vehicles and thousands of pedestrians milling about downtown will be just as prohibitive. — Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 15 June 2026

Still, the antibody treatment and other measles drugs could be cost-prohibitive. — Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 15 June 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