prohibitively
Meaning
To such a high degree or cost that it prevents use or purchase
In a manner that serves to forbid or prevent
Structure
Usage
The cost of living in the city is prohibitively high for many young professionals.
The technical skills required for the job were prohibitively difficult for a beginner.
Import tariffs made the foreign goods prohibitively expensive for local consumers.
Etymology
The word "prohibitively" is built upon the Latin verb prohibere, meaning "to hold back" or "to prevent," which itself derives from pro- ("forth") and habere ("to hold"). This literal sense of holding something forth to block it evolved into the general meaning of "to forbid by authority." The suffix -ive was added to form the adjective "prohibitive," describing something that has the nature of forbidding or preventing, often due to extreme difficulty or cost. Finally, the adverbial suffix -ly transforms it into "prohibitively," specifying the manner in which an action is done—so extremely that it effectively prevents an outcome, most commonly in an economic context.
Analysis
• prohibit: From Latin prohibere (to hold back, prevent), combining pro- (forward, forth) and habere (to hold). Functions as the core verb root.
• ive: A suffix of Latin origin (-ivus) used to form adjectives meaning "tending to" or "having the nature of."
• ly: An Old English suffix (-lice) used to form adverbs from adjectives, meaning "in a specified manner."