inhibitory

American  

[in-hib-i-tawr-ee] / ɪnˈhɪb ɪˌtɔr i /

Sometimes inhibitive

adjective

1. acting to restrain, hinder, arrest, check, or prohibit an action, impulse, etc..

   These substances are strongly inhibitory for the growth of mycoplasmas and some protozoa.

   Children with weak inhibitory and attentional resources may have great difficulty resisting the influence of marketing.

---

Other Word Forms

• interinhibitive adjective
• noninhibitive adjective
• noninhibitory adjective
• subinhibitory adjective

Etymology

Origin of inhibitory

First recorded in 1490–1500; inhibit ( def. ) + -ory ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Normal human consciousness is tied to inhibitory neurotransmitters in the central nervous system called gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025

They found that during sleep, both excitatory and inhibitory connections in the brain become weaker, but they do so asymmetrically, making inhibitory connections weaker than excitatory connections, which causes an increase in excitation.

From Science Daily • Nov. 22, 2024

Instead, the only alteration they found was a loss of the inhibitory protein, providing more evidence that the amount of catalytic subunit relative to its regulatory components was a key factor in disease formation.

From Science Daily • Jun. 18, 2024

The team found that the phasic inhibitory interneurons become stimulated by lots of input of the neurotransmitter glutamate from the excitatory neurons and vigorously spike, or fire.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2024

Your thought-channels are pitifully blocked and criss-crossed with nonsensical and inhibitory complexes that stand in the way of true progress.

From Astounding Stories of Super-Science, May, 1930 by Bates, Harry