forbiddingfor‧bid‧ding /fəˈbɪdɪŋ $ fər-/ adjective 
We sailed past the island’s rather dark and forbidding cliffs. His face was forbidding, even hostile.► see thesaurus at unfriendly—forbiddingly adverb
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- The mountains looked more forbidding as we got closer.
- The school was a large, rather forbidding building.
- The wood-panelled den looked dark and forbidding.
- At first when you enter, the church seems forbidding and rather a muddle.
- The main tower of the fortress is nine storeys high and even today looks forbidding.
- The trees seemed taller and closer together; the spaces between them darker and more forbidding.
- To their left was the long forbidding wood with its tangle of trees and stubborn defenders.
- Uncle Fred was an austere and impressive figure, whom some people found forbidding.
THESAURUSplace/organization
making you feel as though you are not wanted: · The report found that the church can seem unfriendly to outsiders.
unfriendly – used especially about the physical characteristics or appearance of something: · The entrance to the factory is cold, bare, and unwelcoming.· The new fence is just one example of the city’s attempt to make public spaces unwelcoming to the homeless.
lacking the normal friendly relations between people who work or do business together: · I had no desire to work for a large impersonal organization.· They just handed over the keys and walked out – it was all so impersonal.
unfriendly, uncomfortable, and a little frightening, so that you do not want to go there: · The school was a rather forbidding building surrounded by a high steel fence.
Longman Language Activatorwhen a particular place or situation seems unfriendly · I don't like going to that bar - it's not very friendly.unfriendly/not friendly to/towards · The city has a reputation for being unfriendly to minorities.
making you feel that you are not wanted: · The entrance to the factory is cold, bare, and unwelcoming.unwelcoming to/towards: · The new fence is just one example of the city's attempt to make public spaces unwelcoming to the homeless.
unfriendly and difficult to feel relaxed in: · The tribe has lived for generations in the inhospitable mountain regions of the country.inhospitable to/towards: · The brokerage firm has always been extremely inhospitable to women.
a place or situation that is impersonal lacks the normal friendly relations between people who work or do business together, as if such feelings were considered unimportant: · They just handed over the keys and walked out - it was all so impersonal.· I had no desire to work for a large, impersonal organization.
a forbidding place seems unfriendly, uncomfortable, and a little frightening, so that you do not want to go there: · The school was a large, rather forbidding building.· The wood-panelled den looked dark and forbidding.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY We sailed past the island’s rather dark and forbidding cliffs.
having a frightening or unfriendly appearanceforbidding place/land/landscape etc We sailed past the island’s rather dark and forbidding cliffs. We sailed past the island’s rather dark and forbidding cliffs. His face was forbidding, even hostile.► see thesaurus at unfriendly—forbiddingly adverb