Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not likely to please; objectionable.
  • adjective Not wanted.
  • noun A person regarded as undesirable.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not desirable; not to be wished.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective objectionable or not likely to please
  • noun an undesirable person

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun one whose presence is undesirable
  • adjective not worthy of being chosen (especially as a spouse)
  • adjective not wanted

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

un- +‎ desirable

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word undesirable.

Examples

  • The label "undesirable" has been attached to this World War II veteran's military records for more than 60 years, simply because he was kicked out for being gay.

    Ian Thompson: The Demise of DADT Ian Thompson 2011

  • The idea that the U.S. government somehow created HIV to kill African-Americans, gays, and other what they call undesirable groups, according to this conspiracy theory.

    CNN Transcript Dec 2, 2004 2004

  • "My primary concern is resources," said the commissioner, who blamed the economic crisis for keeping staffing at what he called undesirable levels.

    NYT > Home Page 2009

  • How do we ensure that age or skin color or national origin or harmless mannerisms will not also become the basis for distinguishing the undesirable from the desirable?

    Paul Boden: The Quality of Whose Life? Part 2 Paul Boden 2010

  • How do we ensure that age or skin color or national origin or harmless mannerisms will not also become the basis for distinguishing the undesirable from the desirable?

    Paul Boden: The Quality of Whose Life? Part 2 Paul Boden 2010

  • How do we ensure that age or skin color or national origin or harmless mannerisms will not also become the basis for distinguishing the undesirable from the desirable?

    Paul Boden: The Quality of Whose Life? Part 2 Paul Boden 2010

  • Loss of the home/living in undesirable living conditions

    USATODAY.com 2006

  • I've been skeptical at claims that PowerPoint dictates a certain undesirable structure upon it's users, but after working with a blog, I'm starting to think there may be something to that idea.

    Blogs as Presentation Tools 2005

  • I've been skeptical at claims that PowerPoint dictates a certain undesirable structure upon it's users, but after working with a blog, I'm starting to think there may be something to that idea.

    Archive 2005-09-01 2005

  • Was Rebecca wise to have a child knowing the odds her offspring would inherit certain undesirable traits?

    The Family Tree by Carole Cadwalladr: Questions 2005

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.