Word family noun desirability desire adjective desirable ≠ undesirable desired ≠ undesired verb desire adverb desirably
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishundesirableun‧de‧sir‧a‧ble1 /ˌʌndɪˈzaɪərəbəl◂ $ -ˈzaɪr-/ ●○○ adjective formal WANT#something or someone that is undesirable is not welcome or wanted because they may affect a situation or person in a bad wayundesirable effects/consequences etc The drug may have other undesirable effects. punishment of undesirable behaviour► see thesaurus at badExamples from the Corpus
undesirable• All of these potential outcomes are extremely undesirable.• I still remain of the view that that would be undesirable.• If the firm has a short-term or cyclical need for funds, a long-term obligation may be highly undesirable.• Many tried to make themselves deeply undesirable.• Even in situations of hardship, government action is undesirable because it can undermine individual initiative and independence.• The reward has gone and consequently the undesirable behaviour may diminish or cease.• The incident could have undesirable consequences for the government.• Environmentalists claim that the development will have undesirable effects on animal habitats in the area.• Rent control laws can have a number of undesirable effects.• Mutual cooperation was undesirable from the generals' point of view, because it wasn't helping them to win the war.• The drug is effective, but has undesirable side effects, and long-term use can result in liver damage.• There is no telling how fast an undesirable wife can be shot out the door.undesirable effects/consequences etc• Chlorinated phenols: Phenol agents are generally unsuitable for food use as they exhibit high odour characteristics and other undesirable effects.• Past introductions of new species into a strange environment have sometimes had unforseen and undesirable consequences.• Some drugs are useful agents in the treatment of disease in man and animals but some may also produce undesirable effects.• It also considers the factors which cause undesirable consequences and suggests policy decisions and design methods for controlling these factors.• The undesirable effects of inflation are considered in greater detail Chapter 27.undesirableundesirable2 noun [countable usually plural] SCCBAD PERSONsomeone who is considered to be immoral, criminal, or socially unacceptable security measures to keep out undesirablesExamples from the Corpus
undesirable• She, like many others, is on a list of undesirables collated by police intelligence in several different countries.• The investigations are intended to prevent spies, criminals, security risks and other undesirables from entering government.• How could she go around with such undesirables? 