undesirable

UK/ˌʌndɪˈzaɪɹəbəl/US/ˌʌndɪˈzaɪɹəbəl/

adjectiveB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,809 of 15,258leans written

Undesirable means unwanted because of the harm it brings. Undesirable side effects, an undesirable outcome, socially undesirable.

As a noun it was once a chilling official term for a person, used in immigration files, and that history is worth knowing. Of effects and outcomes it is neutral bureaucratic English.

Definitions of undesirable

1adjectiveundesirableUnwanted because of the harm it brings.B2+
“The medicine can have undesirable side effects such as headaches.”

undesirable is a quality.

Where it comes from

Old French
desirable
English
desirable
English, today
undesirable

From un- + desirable. desirable comes from Old French desirable. Morphologically desire + able.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

undesirable in the wild

In January 2026, it became known that the organization had been declared an undesirable in Russia.
Human Rights First
On 10 July 2024, the office of the Russian Prosecutor General announced that the newspaper was declared an undesirable organization.
The Moscow Times
In 2026, the World Organisation Against Torture was designated as undesirable in Russia.
World Organisation Against Torture
In August 2024, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation was declared an undesirable organization in Russia.
Konrad Adenauer Foundation
In April 2026, the site was declared an undesirable organization in Russia.
Eurasianet

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the desirable family

desirable undesirable

undesirable — used about once every 5,163 pages · #9,809 · point at the bar for the others

desire

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