inhospitable
Americanadjective
-
not inclined to, or characterized by, hospitality, as persons or actions; unfriendly.
-
(of a region, climate, etc.) not offering shelter, favorable conditions, etc.; barren.
an inhospitable rocky coast.
adjective
-
not hospitable; unfriendly
-
(of a region, an environment, etc) lacking a favourable climate, terrain, etc
Other Word Forms
- inhospitableness noun
- inhospitably adverb
Etymology
Origin of inhospitable
1560–70; < Middle French < Medieval Latin inhospitābilis. See in- 3, hospitable
Explanation
Inhospitable places aren't easy or comfortable to live in, and inhospitable people can be downright unfriendly — even hostile. A hotel is particularly inhospitable if it's got uncomfortable beds and grouchy desk clerks. Northern Minnesota is inhospitable in January, and many parts of India are inhospitable in the summertime — they are harsh, difficult places for most people. You're inhospitable to a visitor in your home if you don't offer a drink or ask if they want to sit, or in other ways try to make them comfortable. To be hospitable is to be friendly or pleasant, and when you add the "not" prefix in-, you get inhospitable.
Vocabulary lists containing inhospitable
This Week in Words: April 22 - 27, 2018
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Uglies
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
This Week in Words: May 18–24, 2019
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Appreciate the variety of ways a planet might be, and how many of them are, cold, dry, sterile, baked, toxic, inhospitable, and, as far as we can tell, completely devoid of life.
From Slate • Dec. 9, 2025
And so, on a black Christmas night, with sleet volleying into their faces, columns of men struggled through some of the most inhospitable fields to ever yield up a victory.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
You might call the Chargers inhospitable, seeing as the Steelers came into the game averaging 25.3 points.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 9, 2025
Building on their findings, Kumawat and his colleagues now plan to cultivate these microorganisms in controlled incubators to learn more about how they obtain nutrients and persist in such inhospitable environments.
From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2025
She’d never seen any woodlands this raw and inhospitable.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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.
