I. un ‧ de ‧ sir ‧ a ‧ ble 1 /ˌʌndɪˈzaɪərəb ə l◂ $ -ˈzaɪr-/ BrE AmE adjective formal
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ desirability , ↑ desire ; adjective : ↑ desirable ≠ ↑ undesirable , ↑ desired ≠ UNDESIRED ; verb : ↑ desire ; adverb : ↑ desirably ]
something or someone that is undesirable is not welcome or wanted because they may affect a situation or person in a bad way
undesirable effects/consequences etc
The drug may have other undesirable effects.
punishment of undesirable behaviour
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THESAURUS
▪ bad not good:
a bad idea
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His behaviour is getting worse.
▪ poor not as good as it could be or should be:
A poor diet can lead to ill health.
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his poor performance at school
▪ not very good not good – often used instead of saying directly that something was ‘bad’, especially when you were disappointed by it:
The film wasn’t very good.
▪ disappointing not as good as you hoped or expected:
Her exam results were disappointing.
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a disappointing start to the campaign
▪ negative bad – used when talking about the bad result or effect of something:
All the publicity had a negative impact on sales.
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the negative effects of climate change
▪ undesirable formal bad and not wanted:
The policy had some undesirable consequences.
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drug abuse and other undesirable behaviour
▪ unfavourable formal unfavourable conditions are not good for doing something:
The boat race was cancelled because of unfavourable weather.
II. undesirable 2 BrE AmE noun [countable usually plural]
someone who is considered to be immoral, criminal, or socially unacceptable:
security measures to keep out undesirables