How to use prohibitive in a sentence

12 example sentences · adjective, noun

Prohibitive means tending to prohibit, preclude, or disallow. Example: “Some countries are more prohibitive than others when it comes to hot topics like euthanasia and cloning.”

Examples of prohibitive by meaning

adjectiveTending to prohibit, preclude, or disallow.

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

adjectiveCostly to the extreme; beyond budget.

I'd like to visit Europe someday, but the cost is prohibitive right now.
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.2025 February 19, Paul Clifton, “I am absolutely committed to reforming the railway”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 41

adjectiveBeing the presumptive or likely winner of a contest.

I think he’s the prohibitive favorite if he gets in,” Dennis Lennox, a Michigan-based Republican political consultant, told Politico.2017 July 23, Olivia Beavers, “GOP consultant:Kid Rock would be prohibitive favorite if he enters Michigan Senate race.”, in The Hill, 2020...

More sentences with prohibitive

In sections (5.2.7-10.) three special prohibitive moods were identified and described: negative imperative, negative exhortative and monitory.1994, Hein van der Voort, A grammar of Kwaza, Mouton de Gruyzer, page 528. From the entry exhortative
Instead, she regularly slanders women and proposes prohibitive and censorial legislation.1986 February 8, K.L. Ratliff, “Exit, Stage Right”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 29, page 5. From the entry censorial
It is your responsibility to play only those games where the vig is not prohibitive.1984, John Patrick, Craps, →ISBN, page 11. From the entry vig
As becomes clear from this example, prohibitives and normatives can be more easily located in a text than explicatives.2010, Spiros Moschonas, Jürgen Spitzmüller, “Prescriptivism in and about the media: a comparative analysis of corrective practices in…. From the entry explicative
Up to 2% prohibitive materials and 5% out-throws are allowed.1996, Tappi Journal - Volume 79, page 178. From the entry out-throw
A parallel multiplier could theoretically be realized as a two-level multiple-outway combinational network, but its cost would be prohibitive.1975, AR Meo, IEEE Transactions on Computers. From the entry outway
In interplant and interdepartmental shipments, it has been found that the cost of packaging is prohibitive where the articles or bodies of merchandise are individually crated or cased.1935, Roy C. Ingersoll, "Ring for Packaging," US Patent 2119745 http://www.google.com/patents?id=-dpIAAAAEBAJ, page 2. From the entry interplant
“Embossed Ratine"—another of this season's materials—is of such ultra-rich quality that its prohibitive price assures it of a permanently exclusive position in the realm of woolen fabrics.1912, The Theatre - Volume 16, page xxvi. From the entry ultra-rich

Meaning of prohibitive

adjective Tending to prohibit, preclude, or disallow.
adjective Requiring an unreasonable or impractical effort.
adjective Costly to the extreme; beyond budget.

Full definition of prohibitive

Questions about prohibitive in a sentence

How do you use prohibitive in a sentence?: Prohibitive is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “Some countries are more prohibitive than others when it comes to hot topics like euthanasia and cloning.”
What is a short sentence with prohibitive?: “Up to 2% prohibitive materials and 5% out-throws are allowed.”
What does prohibitive mean?: Prohibitive means tending to prohibit, preclude, or disallow.

Adapted from Wiktionary: prohibitive (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use prohibitive in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/prohibitive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.