forbid

[ fer-bid, fawr- ]
See synonyms for: forbidforbadeforbiddenforbidding on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),for·bade or for·bad or for·bid, for·bid·den or for·bid, for·bid·ding.
  1. to command (a person) not to do something, have something, etc., or not to enter some place: She forbade him entry to the house.

  2. to prohibit (something); make a rule or law against: to forbid the use of lipstick; to forbid smoking.

  1. to hinder or prevent; make impossible.

  2. to exclude; bar: Burlesque is forbidden in many cities.

Origin of forbid

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English forbeden, Old English forbēodan. See for-, bid1

synonym study For forbid

1, 2. 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 words for forbid

Other words from forbid

  • for·bid·der, noun

Words that may be confused with forbid

Words Nearby forbid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use forbid in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for forbid

forbid

/ (fəˈbɪd) /


verb-bids, -bidding, -bade, -bad, -bidden or -bid (tr)
  1. to prohibit (a person) in a forceful or authoritative manner (from doing something or having something)

  2. to make impossible; hinder

  1. to shut out or exclude

  2. God forbid! may it not happen

Origin of forbid

1
Old English forbēodan; related to Old High German farbiotan, Gothic faurbiudan; see for-, bid

Derived forms of forbid

  • forbiddance, noun
  • forbidder, noun

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with forbid

forbid

see god forbid.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.