hospitable
Americanadjective
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receiving or treating guests or strangers warmly and generously.
a hospitable family.
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characterized by or betokening warmth and generosity toward guests or strangers.
a hospitable smile.
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favorably receptive or open (usually followed byto ).
to be hospitable to new ideas; a climate hospitable to the raising of corn.
adjective
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welcoming to guests or strangers
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fond of entertaining
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receptive
hospitable to new ideas
Other Word Forms
- hospitableness noun
- hospitably adverb
Etymology
Origin of hospitable
First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin hospitā(re) “to receive as guest” (compare Latin hospitārī “to be a guest”; hospitium ) + -ble
Explanation
When someone makes you feel comfortable and at home, that person is being hospitable, providing a warm, friendly environment. Anything hospitable is welcoming and open. A Greek proverb suggested that in being hospitable, the main feeling should be good will. The basis for the word hospitable is the Latin hospes, which refers to welcoming a guest, a word that evolved into meaning "to entertain." Consider that being hospitable means, as someone once said, “making your guests feel at home, even though you wish they were.” In other words, entertaining them. (You can also “entertain” new ideas with an open, hospitable mind.)
Vocabulary lists containing hospitable
100 SAT Words Beginning with "H"
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You're Too Kind! Synonyms for "Generous"
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Selection Vocabulary 3, Unit 5
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Black women today are starting their own businesses at a faster clip than any other demographic in America, according to a recent report—and a less hospitable corporate world has a lot to do with it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026
"The Irish golf fans are some of the best in the world. They are so passionate about the game, so hospitable and so down to earth," he said.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
The stock is now priced around $150, existing in a world that might—might!—be less hospitable to the absurdity that once sent it to the moon.
From Slate • Feb. 3, 2026
But he found the environment to be much less hospitable than the first time around.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 9, 2026
A few will be hospitable; most will appear hostile.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
