inhibitory

[ in-hib-i-tawr-ee ]

adjective

1. acting to restrain, hinder, arrest, check, or prohibit an action, impulse, etc.:

   These substances are strongly inhibitory for the growth of mycoplasmas and some protozoa.

   Children with weak inhibitory and attentional resources may have great difficulty resisting the influence of marketing.

Other Words From

• in·ter·in·hib·i·tive adjective
• non·in·hib·i·tive adjective
• non·in·hib·i·to·ry adjective
• sub·in·hib·i·to·ry adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of inhibitory¹

First recorded in 1490–1500; inhibit ( def ) + -ory ¹( def )

Example Sentences

Digging deeper, she found that the tumor cells have a molecular imbalance: an increased amount of catalytic proteins exceeds the number of inhibitory ones that normally tamp down and localize the former.

From Science Daily

Shirani's results indicate that the fact that the active catalytic subunit overrules its inhibitory components is what's important, not a structural change in the kinase itself.

From Science Daily

Instead, the only alteration they found was a loss of the inhibitory protein, providing more evidence that the amount of catalytic subunit relative to its regulatory components was a key factor in disease formation.

From Science Daily

Dr Piril Hepsomali, University of Reading, said: "We can eat ourselves well! Ultimately, we see that people who have an unhealthy diet -- high in sugar and saturated fat -- have imbalanced excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission, as well as reduced volume of grey matter in the frontal part of the brain. This part of the brain is involved in mental health issues such as depression and anxiety."

From Science Daily

The inferior frontal gyrus, key in inhibitory control, may play a crucial role in how adolescents regulate their engagement with rewarding stimuli such as social media.

From Science Daily