Meanings
comparative more inhospitable · superlative most inhospitable
- Not inclined to hospitality; unfriendly.
- Not offering shelter; barren or forbidding.
Yet despite sounding inhospitable, grasslands such as this are home to a huge variety of smaller herbs and wildflowers, including some of the UK's rarest orchids and invertebrates, in addition to being home to butterfly species such as the Chalkhill Blue.
2024 March 20, Chris Howe, “High speed underneath the Chilterns...”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 33
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveunfavorable to life or growth
adjectivenot hospitable
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Medieval Latininhospitābilis
- Middle Frenchinhospitable
- Englishinhospitable
From Middle French inhospitable, from Medieval Latin inhospitābilis. By surface analysis, in- + hospitable.
More words from Middle French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian негостоприемен
- негостоприемен (negostopriemen)Not offering shelter
Catalan inhòspit, inhòspit
- inhòspitnot inclined to hospitality; unfriendly
- inhòspitNot offering shelter
Dutch onherbergzaam
- onherbergzaamNot offering shelter
Finnish karu
- karuNot offering shelter
French inhospitalier
- inhospitalierNot offering shelter
Greek αφιλόξενος
- αφιλόξενος (afilóxenos)Not offering shelter
Irish doicheallach, ainfhial
- doicheallachnot inclined to hospitality; unfriendly
- ainfhialNot offering shelter
- danarthaNot offering shelter
- dofháilteachNot offering shelter
- dothíosachNot offering shelter
Latin inhospitālis
- inhospitālisNot offering shelter
Norwegian Bokmål ugjestmild
- ugjestmildNot offering shelter
Polish niegościnny
- niegościnnyNot offering shelter
Portuguese inóspito
- inóspitoNot offering shelter
Russian негостеприимный
- негостеприимный (negostepriimnyj)Not offering shelter
Spanish inhospitable, inhospitalario
- inhospitablenot inclined to hospitality; unfriendly
- inhospitalarionot inclined to hospitality; unfriendly
- inhóspitoNot offering shelter
- inhospitableNot offering shelter
- inhospitalarioNot offering shelter
Swedish ogästvänlig
- ogästvänligNot offering shelter
Cite this entry
inhospitable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inhospitable
“inhospitable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inhospitable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inhospitable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inhospitable.
Source: inhospitable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.