forbid
Americanverb (used with object)
-
forbids,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forbade,
past participle, past
-
forbid,
past participle, past
-
forbad,
past (Archaic)
-
forbidden,
past participle
-
forbidding
present participle
-
to command (a person) not to do something, have something, etc., or not to enter some place.
She forbade him entry to the house.
- Synonyms:
- interdict
-
to prohibit (something); make a rule or law against.
to forbid the use of lipstick; to forbid smoking.
- Synonyms:
- interdict
-
to hinder or prevent; make impossible.
-
to exclude; bar.
Burlesque is forbidden in many cities.
verb
-
to prohibit (a person) in a forceful or authoritative manner (from doing something or having something)
-
to make impossible; hinder
-
to shut out or exclude
-
may it not happen
Synonym Usage
Forbid, inhibit, prohibit, taboo indicate a command to refrain from some action. Forbid, a common and familiar word, usually denotes a direct or personal command of this sort: I forbid you to go. It was useless to forbid children to play in the park. Inhibit implies a checking or hindering of impulses by the mind, sometimes involuntarily: to inhibit one's desires; His responsiveness was inhibited by extreme shyness. Prohibit, a formal or legal word, means usually to forbid by official edict, enactment, or the like: to prohibit the sale of liquor. Taboo, primarily associated with primitive superstition, means to prohibit by common disapproval and by social custom: to taboo a subject in polite conversation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
forbidsimple
-
forbidssimple
-
have forbadeperfect
-
have forbidperfect
-
have forbiddenperfect
-
has forbadeperfect
-
has forbidperfect
-
has forbiddenperfect
-
am forbiddingprogressive
-
are forbiddingprogressive
-
is forbiddingprogressive
-
have been forbiddingperfect progressive
-
has been forbiddingperfect progressive
Past
-
forbadsimple
-
forbadesimple
-
forbidsimple
-
had forbadeperfect
-
had forbidperfect
-
had forbiddenperfect
-
was forbiddingprogressive
-
were forbiddingprogressive
-
had been forbiddingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of forbid
First recorded before 1000; Middle English forbeden, Old English forbēodan. See for-, bid 1
Explanation
When you forbid something, you refuse to allow it. You might have heard your parents say things like, "I forbid you to play ball in the house!" or "I forbid you to have any more parties when we're not home!" Forbid comes from the Old English word forbeodan, meaning "forbid, prohibit." Forbid can also mean "prevent" or "keep from happening." The spare tire on your car will forbid you from driving any faster than 40 miles an hour — any faster and the car will shake. You may have heard forbid used in the expression "God forbid . . ." This refers to something you hope will not happen, so much so that you're asking God for a little help.
Vocabulary lists containing forbid
Beowulf vocabulary
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"Names/Nombres" by Julia Alvarez
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
While most jurisdiction forbid medical help to die, assisted dying laws around the world vary.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Scarier yet, it’s possible that someone—or, heaven forbid, some A.I. detector—might mistake my text for ChatGPT’s.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
If, God forbid, Maddie should disappear — if Grande departed public life, as she’s now planning on — there would be a hole in Deena’s life.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
The United Nations’s chief wants humanity to forbid killer robots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Our mother is so sure none of us would want to go near his house she hasn’t bothered to forbid it.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
"There is a regulatory vacuum because Article 4 of the 1967 treaty only forbids weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons in orbit," said space law expert Laetitia Cesari.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
“When a state offers a method for casting a ballot, the Constitution forbids restricting access to that voting method based on any prohibited ground, including age,” Judge Roger Gregory writes for a unanimous panel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
District Judge Troy L. Nunley issued a preliminary injunction in April that forbids Nexstar — which owns KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles — and Tegna, from combining operations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
A super-injunction is a court-mandated gagging order that forbids news outlets from reporting private or sensitive information.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
“In his night-shirt he chased the Sister on duty and absolutely forbids anyone at all to go near his bed. Yesterday he got up and went to wash in the coal-box.”
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
The Meyer decision, for example, overturned a Nebraska law which forbad teaching non-English languages in public and private schools.
From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2022
The Grand Council, however, did not allow the contemplated formation of an independent congregation, and in 1824 forbad all “sectarian” assemblies, while the mob raged even more wildly than at Geneva against the “Momiers.”
From Church History, Vol. 3 of 3 by J. H. Kurtz
The first article gave a master power to pledge the tackle of a ship, if in want of provisions for the crew, but forbad the sale of the hull without the owner’s permission.
From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 1 by Frederick Whymper
Although the diocesan conference next forbad the proclamation of the new Vatican dogma, the bishop threatened excommunicated Egli in Lucerne in 1871, and Geschwind in Starrkirch in 1872, who refused.
From Church History, Vol. 3 of 3 by J. H. Kurtz
The French clergy were so engrossed by the pastime that the Synod of Langres, 1404, forbad it as unclerical.
From Ecclesiastical Curiosities by Various
After the judge forbade them from using certain PowerPoint slides, Halem’s former attorneys decided against presenting an opening statement to jurors, scuttling any possibility of a favorable outcome, Weimortz said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
In an earlier era, George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, forbade his players to wear their hair long or have beards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
The reason for the separation between the businesses, Corley added, had to do with a defunct local law that forbade the two establishments existing under one umbrella.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
That’s because the rule never forbade criticism of the SEC, but only a defendant’s attempt to deny the allegations or facts in a settlement that it “neither admitted nor denied.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 17, 2026
My sister forbade me to have a first-period class, because she refused to drive me to campus at the crack of dawn, and I dutifully obliged.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
By BritBox decree, I am forbidden from reviewing it for now.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
A defense of yelling in restaurants: It’s a forbidden behavior in today’s restaurants—but Amanda Albee spoke to chefs who say it massively improved their careers.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
Under local regulations in the region, "it is forbidden to needlessly disturb, attract or pursue a polar bear", which was declared a protected species in Svalbard in 1972.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
They are forbidden from contact with relatives and friends in Israel, and can’t visit the country, home to Judaism’s holiest sites.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Mal was forbidden to fly anywhere except around the garden or across the fields: her great-aunt Leonor would have been horrified had she known how far Mal went.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Well, it's not exactly Mariah Carey demanding baskets of puppies and forbidding eye contact, but Imbruglia was shaken up.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
Daniels isn’t pleased, informing LSU through his attorney that he “feels profoundly disrespected” and forbidding the school to use his name, image and likeness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
If your niece’s mother lives there rent-free, the trustee should be comfortable that doing so benefits your niece and there should be no rules forbidding it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
Beijing retaliated by forbidding Chinese companies from ordering Boeing jets -- or receiving those already ordered.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she says, holding up a forbidding, long-fingered hand.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
