Forbiddingness refers to the quality of being intimidating, daunting, or uninviting. Synonyms for this word include the following: austerity, bleakness, formidability, grimness, harshness, severity, sternness, and unapproachability. These words all convey a sense of difficulty or hardness, suggesting that whatever it is they describe is not easy to deal with. They indicate the absence of warmth or friendliness and a tendency to inspire fear or trepidation. Forbiddingness can be used to describe anything from an inhospitable landscape to a stern authority figure, and its synonyms capture a similar sense of more unpleasant and off-putting traits.