Undesirable

How to spell undesirable

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce undesirable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does undesirable mean?

1. adjectiveNot wanted or not advisable because it is harmful, unpleasant, or objectionable.
2. nounA person regarded by others as objectionable or socially unacceptable.

Undesirable in a sentence

• adjective

  The new policy had several undesirable side effects on staff morale.

• noun

  The club kept a quiet list of anyone it considered an undesirable.

• adjective

  Mixing those two cleaning products produces an undesirable chemical reaction.

• noun

  The regime branded the journalist an undesirable and revoked her visa.

Where does undesirable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on 'desire', which English borrowed through Old French 'desirer' from the Latin 'desiderare', meaning to long for or wish for; that Latin verb is thought to come from 'de sidere', literally 'from the stars', perhaps from the old practice of watching the heavens with longing or expectation. To this base English added the native prefix 'un-', meaning 'not', and the suffix '-able', which came through French from the Latin '-abilis' and signals 'capable of' or 'worthy of'. The combined form first appears in English in the seventeenth century, describing things that ought not to be wished for. The spelling trap lies in the silent 'e' of 'desire' surviving inside the word, because before the consonant cluster of '-able' the 'e' is kept; writers who drop it produce the incorrect 'undesirble'. Knowing that the heart of the word is plainly 'desire' helps fix the middle of it in memory.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• desir(e) (from Latin desiderare: to long for)
• -able (capable of, worthy of)