undesirable

Etymology

It is formed from English un- + desirable.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The adjective desirable is from Old French desirable (12th century), from desirrer, the source of desire.^[3] Etymonline notes earlier relatives: undesired, not asked or invited, from the late 15th century, and a verb undesire (“to cease desiring”) in the late 14th century.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Not to be desired, objectionable: 1667, in Milton's Paradise Lost,^[2][4] where Eve calls superiority to Adam "A thing not undesirable".^[7]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as not to be wished, not pleasing.^[7] The noun, an undesirable person or thing, is first recorded in 1883, in the Athenæum,^[2][4][3] and is now used especially of people considered unwelcome in a place or society.^[8][4] In the United States armed forces an undesirable discharge, from 1911, is a discharge without court martial but under conditions less than honourable.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 1667 – adjective, not to be desired, objectionable.^[2][4]
• 1883 – noun, an undesirable person or thing.^[2][4][3]
• 1911 – undesirable discharge, in the US forces.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not wanted or welcome, because unpleasant, harmful or objectionable: undesirable side effects.^[8][4][2]

Noun

1. A person or thing considered undesirable, especially a person not wanted in a place or group.^[8][4][2]

Word family

• undesirability
• undesirably
• undesirableness

Related words

• desirable
• desire
• undesired

Usage notes

In the US military, an undesirable discharge is a discharge from service without a court martial but under less than honourable conditions.^[2][5]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins