Word
prohibitive
Phoneticspro·hib·i·tive
US/pɹoʊˈhɪbətɪv/
UK/pɹəhˈɪbɪtˌɪv/
Definition
adj. too expensive or difficult to be practical. You use this when something is so costly or hard that you cannot afford or manage to do it.
adj. exceeding the limits of what is reasonable or affordable; making an action or purchase impossible due to high cost or difficulty. Often used in economic or technical contexts to describe a barrier to entry.
Examples
“The cost of the new car is prohibitive for most families.”
“The high cost of living in the city makes it prohibitive for young professionals to rent an apartment.”
“The technical complexity of the software made it prohibitive for small businesses to implement without significant external support.”
Examples
simple
“The cost of the new car is prohibitive for most families.”
contextual
“The high cost of living in the city makes it prohibitive for young professionals to rent an apartment.”
complex
“The technical complexity of the software made it prohibitive for small businesses to implement without significant external support.”
Real-World Examples
“The price difference - typically £8-12 for a supermarket 250g versus £12-18 for a roasted-to-order speciality bag - is meaningful but not prohibitive.” “For very large systems, conventional simulations can therefore become computationally prohibitive.” Etymology
From Middle English prohibitif, prohibityve, from Medieval Latin prohibitīvus, from prohibit-, past-participle stem of Latin prohibēre. By surface analysis, prohibit + -ive.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domain
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/prohibitive