undesirable

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌʌndɪˈzaɪərəbəl/ UK /ˌʌndɪˈzaɪərəbəl/ See IPA manual

adj noun

Meanings

1

adj
not wanted or desirable; objectionable

The treatment had several undesirable side effects.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not wanted or desirable;... unwanted objectionable unwelcome disagreeable unacceptable unsavory

Opposites

desirable wanted welcome agreeable

Word family

Derived forms undesirabilityundesirablenessundesirably

Related forms desirable desire desirous

Etymology

From un- ('not') + desirable, from desire, from Old French desirer, from Latin desiderare ('to long for, desire'), perhaps originally an augury term, from de- + sidus ('star').

un- Old English desiderare Latin sidus Latin

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Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# undesirable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** ˌʌndɪˈzaɪərəbəl
**IPA (UK):** ˌʌndɪˈzaɪərəbəl

## Meanings
1. not wanted or desirable; objectionable

## Examples
- The treatment had several undesirable side effects.

## Synonyms
- unwanted
- objectionable
- unwelcome
- disagreeable
- unacceptable
- unsavory

## Antonyms
- desirable
- wanted
- welcome
- agreeable

## Derived Forms
- undesirability
- undesirableness
- undesirably

## Related Forms
- desirable
- desire
- desirous

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: un-
- Root: desiderare
- Root: sidus

## Etymology
From un- ('not') + desirable, from desire, from Old French desirer, from Latin desiderare ('to long for, desire'), perhaps originally an augury term, from de- + sidus ('star').

## AI Etymology
Undesirable comes from un- ('not') + desirable, from desire, from Old French desirer, from Latin desiderare ('to long for, desire'), perhaps originally an augury term, from de- + sidus ('star'). The historical chain includes Old English un-, Latin desiderare, and Latin sidus. The quoted older senses, "not", "to long for, desire", and "star", supply the semantic anchors for undesirable. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word undesirable carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "not wanted or desirable; objectionable". English derivatives include undesirability, undesirableness, and undesirably; related English forms include desirable, desire, and desirous. The result is a adj and noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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