inhospitable
- adjective
- /ˌɪnˈhɒspɪtəbl/
- After days travelling through tough and inhospitable terrain, the hikers finally reached safety.
- inhospitable environment
- inhospitable terrain
- inhospitable climate
This is the entire universe now, which is gradually becoming inhospitable to human life.
- This is the entire universe now, which is gradually becoming inhospitable to human life.
- And So what happens is that it's going to create again, that that inhospitable environment for the blight.
- So I think it definitely exacerbates people's experience of the possibility of a dark, absurd, inhospitable world.
Examples
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After days travelling through tough and inhospitable terrain, Colin McKenzie's extras were confronted with an incredible sight.
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But for now, it is a reminder of how, through our ingenuity, people can live in even the most inhospitable of places.
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Cold, dry, inhospitable to life.
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General, those boys are heading out to an inhospitable corner of the world.
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This is the entire universe now, which is gradually becoming inhospitable to human life.
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The planet is unstable and inhospitable.
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It's an alien, inhospitable world that only a handful of people have ever visited.
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The Dead Sea area is very inhospitable compared to the Sea of Galilee.
Academic text (2005) -
Yadin had to mount a major expedition to one of the most inhospitable places on Earth.
Academic text (2002) -
Protestant missionaries were dedicated to spreading the word of God in foreign and inhospitable climes.
Academic text (2012)
Synonyms
Not safe or suitable for people to live in
Not suitable for most living things because it is very harsh
Too dangerous or damaged to live in
Unfriendly and likely to harm someone or something
Not pleasant or welcoming and likely to keep people away
Not welcoming and unpleasant for people to be in
Strange and uncomfortable, making you feel not at home
A place that makes people likely to get sick
Antonyms
How Hospitable
Surface Forms
Morphology
inhospitable = hospitable (transparent) = in + hospit + able
The meaning is a straightforward negation of 'hospitable', so learners who know the base adjective can usually infer it easily.
Etymology
Inhospitable comes from the parts in- meaning 'not' and hospitable, which comes from a root meaning 'guest' and is the same root in host and hospital. So inhospitable describes a place or person that is 'not welcoming' or too harsh for people or plants to live in.