prohibitive

American  

[proh-hib-i-tiv] / proʊˈhɪb ɪ tɪv /

Also prohibitory

adjective

1. serving or tending to prohibit or forbid something.

   We will discuss some of the discriminatory, prohibitive legislation that was undone by the Civil Rights Act.

2. sufficing to prevent the use, purchase, etc., of something.

   prohibitive prices.

3. having so great a likelihood of success that others vying for the same thing are essentially prevented from succeeding.

   Political analysts are largely in agreement over who the party’s prohibitive nominee is.

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prohibitive British  

/ -trɪ, prəˈhɪbɪtɪv, prəˈhɪbɪtərɪ /

adjective

1. prohibiting or tending to prohibit

2. (esp of prices) tending or designed to discourage sale or purchase

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Other Word Forms

• nonprohibitive adjective
• nonprohibitively adverb
• prohibitively adverb
• prohibitiveness noun
• unprohibitive adjective
• unprohibitively adverb

Etymology

Origin of prohibitive

First recorded in 1400–50; from Medieval Latin prohibitīvus; see origin at prohibit, -ive

Explanation

That expensive Ferrari in the showroom? You may want it, but its price is prohibitive — which means the price is discouragingly high and likely to deter you from buying. Prohibitive originally referred to something (often a law) that prohibits or forbids something, but it came to mean conditions (often prices or taxes) so high or great they restrict or prevent something: "To some, the cost of child care is prohibitive." The stress is on the second syllable, just like the verb: pro-HIB-i-tive. If it's a matter of expense, a synonym is exorbitant.

Example Sentences

It’s lowering or eliminating the costs of childcare, one of the most prohibitive barriers to having children, as part of a larger multi-pronged approach to support people who want to have children.

From Salon • Apr. 18, 2026

They admitted no wrongdoing, but because the prohibitive cost of going to trial was seen as a greater financial risk for those huge platforms.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2026

Under its pricing model, residents of larger, more affluent towns subsidise isolated areas where costs would otherwise be prohibitive.

From Barron's • Mar. 3, 2026

“It would be prohibitive for us to pay the $100,000 fee,” Ide said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

But scholarships were few and far between, and the cost of private schooling was prohibitive for all but a privileged few.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• excessive
• exorbitant
• preposterous
• steep