forbid
Americanverb (used with object)
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forbids,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forbade,
past participle, past
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forbid,
past participle, past
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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.
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to exclude; bar.
Burlesque is forbidden in many cities.
verb
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to prohibit (a person) in a forceful or authoritative manner (from doing something or having something)
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to make impossible; hinder
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to shut out or exclude
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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
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forbidsimple
-
forbidssimple
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have forbadeperfect
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have forbidperfect
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have forbiddenperfect
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has forbadeperfect
-
has forbidperfect
-
has forbiddenperfect
-
am forbiddingprogressive
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are forbiddingprogressive
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is forbiddingprogressive
-
have been forbiddingperfect progressive
-
has been forbiddingperfect progressive
Past
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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
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
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"Names/Nombres" by Julia Alvarez
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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:
If anyone goes out — God forbid anyone goes out — I’ve got to be the guy to step up and be the primary ballhandler, and get my guys in the right spots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
That’s not your total return because it doesn’t include appreciation — or, heaven forbid, depreciation — of your home.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
The sanctions would forbid most transactions with the ICC after a grace period of six to seven months, according to documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal and U.S. officials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
While most jurisdiction forbid medical help to die, assisted dying laws around the world vary.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
I crossed my arms and waited for her tell me what my punishment would be, hoping she wouldn’t ground me and forbid me from going to Fall Fiesta.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
It is likely to have a limited impact in the month ahead because the law forbids states from purging their voter rolls in the 90 days before an election.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
The three media organisations have argued that the ban breaches their rights under the First Amendment, which forbids the government from "abridging" the freedom of the press.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
But the bill names loyalty programs both among the rewards it permits and among those it forbids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
International law generally forbids tolling in such waterways.
From Barron's ● Aug. 8, 2026
The following year, Mexico forbids further American colonization of Texas and prohibits the importation of more slaves into the territory.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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 people were commanded to purify themselves and wash their garments, and Moses forbad any one to approach the mountain.
From The History of Antiquity, Vol. I (of VI) by Max Duncker
For my client forbad me to pursue my inquiries.
From The Courtship of Morrice Buckler A Romance by A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley) Mason
His Majesty easily imagin'd that the Queen had been surpriz'd; and being justly angry with Bassompierre, forbad him the Court.
The council of the Bernese government resolved to recall the refractory clergy of the Jura, took their names off the civil register and forbad them to exercise any clerical functions.
From Church History, Vol. 3 of 3 by J. H. Kurtz
This neutrality was legally defined by the Hague Convention of 1907, which forbade Switzerland supplying weapons to countries at war.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Common-law rules at the time forbade defendant testimony on the theory that it was self-interested and thus unreliable.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
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
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
Aggo would have added the weapons Drogo's bloodriders had given Dany for bride gifts as well, but she forbade it.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
He said his parents were deeply religious and so strict that even simple pleasures such as singing were forbidden.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
It provides a sense of community and the thrill of holding forbidden knowledge.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
Millicent, the more practical of the pair, wrote “Widow,” a romantic story of forbidden love.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Gen knows the exact measurements of her salad order and is strictly forbidden from eating any bread.
From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026
It was forbidden to enter the prison camp, but Lulu persuaded a Japanese commandant to let her see her brother.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
F1 drivers' contracts usually have clauses in them forbidding them from doing 'dangerous sports', such as skiing or scuba diving, although not every driver's contract is the same.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
In May the Justice Ministry invoked its new anti-extraterritorial-jurisdiction rules for the first time, forbidding Chinese entities from cooperating with the European Commission’s investigation, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, into Chinese security-equipment maker Nuctech.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 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
In the moonlight, the forbidding buildings of Blackcliff are almost beautiful, the sable granite softened to blue.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
