prohibitive

From Middle English prohibitif, prohibityve, from Medieval Latin prohibitīvus, from prohibit-, past-participle stem of Latin prohibēre.^[1][2] By surface analysis, prohibit +‎ -ive.

• IPA^(key): /pɹəˈhɪbɪtɪv/

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prohibitive (comparative more prohibitive, superlative most prohibitive)

1. Tending to prohibit, preclude, or disallow.

   Some countries are more prohibitive than others when it comes to hot topics like euthanasia and cloning.

2. Requiring an unreasonable or impractical effort.
3. Costly to the extreme; beyond budget.

   Synonym: extortionate

   I'd like to visit Europe someday, but the cost is prohibitive right now.

   • 1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714:

     The economics of rebuilding all the stations covered by the electrification would be prohibitive, but to help bring home to the Glasgow public that their North Clyde suburban service has been transformed, not merely re-equipped with new trains, stations have at least been associated psychologically with the rolling stock by a common colour scheme.

   • 2025 February 19, Paul Clifton, “I am absolutely committed to reforming the railway”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 41:

     Hendy has come out as something of an evangelist for discontinuous electrification. For Waterloo-Exeter, this could make real sense on a route where the high capital cost of wiring or third rail all the way to Devon would be prohibitive. But what about his vocal support for it on East West Rail, which is effectively a brand new line?

4. (US) Being the presumptive or likely winner of a contest.
   • 2017 July 23, Olivia Beavers, “GOP consultant:Kid Rock would be prohibitive favorite if he enters Michigan Senate race.”, in The Hill‎^[1], 2020 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., archived from the original on 07/24/2017:

     “I think there’s no question about that. I think he’s the prohibitive favorite if he gets in,” Dennis Lennox, a Michigan-based Republican political consultant, told Politico.

   • 2020, 00:00:20 from the start, in Andrew Yang endorses Joe Biden, and delivers message to Bernie Sanders supporters‎^[2], CNN, published 2020, archived from the original on 15 March 2020:

     [B]ut the math says Joe is our prohibitive nominee, we need to bring the party together[.]

prohibitive (plural prohibitives)

1. (grammar) A negative imperative.

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prohibitive

1. feminine singular of prohibitif