forbear

[ fawr-bair ]

/ fɔrˈbɛər /

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See synonyms for: forbear / forbearing / forbore / forbearingly on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), for·bore

[fawr-bawr], /fɔrˈbɔr/, for·borne

[fawr-bawrn], /fɔrˈbɔrn/, for·bear·ing.

to refrain or abstain from; desist from.

to keep back; withhold.

Obsolete. to endure.

verb (used without object), for·bore

[fawr-bawr], /fɔrˈbɔr/, for·borne

[fawr-bawrn], /fɔrˈbɔrn/, for·bear·ing.

to refrain; hold back.

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

OTHER WORDS FOR forbear

1 forgo, sacrifice, renounce.

See synonyms for forbear on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of forbear

First recorded before 900; Middle English forberen, Old English forberan “to refrain from, abstain; spare, excuse”; see origin at for-, bear¹

OTHER WORDS FROM forbear

for·bear·er, nounfor·bear·ing·ly, adverbnon·for·bear·ing, adjectivenon·for·bear·ing·ly, adverb

un·for·bear·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use forbear in a sentence

Some readers therefore concluded that the forbearing Dr. Spielvogel must be the hero of the novel.
Who Is Philip Roth’s Portnoy Satirizing?|Bernard Avishai|August 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It is only when the making of the vow would be at variance with the requirements of duty, that forbearing to vow would be no sin.
The Ordinance of Covenanting|John Cunningham
This day I did give my man Will a sound lesson about his forbearing to give us the respect due to a master and mistress.
Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete|Samuel Pepys
Nevertheless, she was forbearing if not loving, and the people said rightly when they said she was admirable.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science|Various

The next visit he was not quite so forbearing, yet still forbearing; and so on by sly gradations.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend|Charles Reade
The painters were calm and forbearing, and scrupulously courteous to each other.
Art in England|Dutton Cook

British Dictionary definitions for forbear (1 of 2)

forbear¹

/ (fɔːˈbɛə) /

verb -bears, -bearing, -bore or -borne

(when intr, often foll by from or an infinitive) to cease or refrain (from doing something)

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

Derived forms of forbear

forbearer, nounforbearingly, adverb

Word Origin for forbear

Old English forberan; related to Gothic frabairan to endure

British Dictionary definitions for forbear (2 of 2)

forbear²

/ (ˈfɔːˌbɛə) /

noun

a variant spelling of forebear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012