forbear

American  

[fawr-bair] / fɔrˈbɛər /

verb (used with object)

forbore, forborne, forbearing

1. to refrain or abstain from; desist from.

   Synonyms:

   renounce, sacrifice, forgo

2. to keep back; withhold.

3. Obsolete. to endure.

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verb (used without object)

forbore, forborne, forbearing

1. to refrain; hold back.

2. to be patient or self-controlled when subject to annoyance or provocation.

forbear ¹ British  

/ fɔːˈbɛə /

verb

1. to cease or refrain (from doing something)

2. archaic to tolerate or endure (misbehaviour, mistakes, etc)

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forbear ² British  

/ ˈfɔːˌbɛə /

noun

1. a variant spelling of forebear

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Other Word Forms

• forbearer noun
• forbearingly adverb
• nonforbearing adjective
• nonforbearingly adverb
• unforbearing adjective

Etymology

Origin of forbear

First recorded before 900; Middle English forberen, Old English forberan “to refrain from, abstain; spare, excuse”; for-, bear ¹

Example Sentences

If the real Queen Charlotte could claim any African cultural lineage, it would have come from a distant Portuguese forbear.

From Salon • May 6, 2023

Three decades ago, Likud, then a more traditional conservative party, shunned Mr. Ben-Gvir’s ideological forbear, Meir Kahane, for being too extreme.

From New York Times • Oct. 24, 2022

"Frankly I do not myself feel at all like my great Tudor forbear."

From Reuters • Feb. 3, 2022

Respondent argues that there is no immediate threat of future harm, because he has and will continue to exercise personal discipline to forbear from discussing these matters in public anymore.

From Slate • Jun. 24, 2021

I told him to forbear question or remark; I desired him to leave me: I must and would be alone.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë