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
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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
-
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
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have forbidperfect
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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
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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:
"Sometimes a ban makes things worse. Protesting is a right -- it's like with children, when you forbid something, it becomes even more tempting," one employee remarked to AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
But each time a home is lost, or, God forbid, a loved one, it wears down even the most hardened Malibu resident a little bit more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 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
There is, in fact, little I can do about bad weather or, heaven forbid, anything worse happening at 35,000 feet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
She kept thinking that if something happened to Milton, if he was wounded or, God forbid, if he didn’t come back—she would be somehow to blame.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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
"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
Trump officials say any such favoritism violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law that forbids discrimination in education and was created to fight segregation and its impact.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
Even tasks as simple as tying her boots he forbids her to do by hand.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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
Henry VII., who was a great card player, forbad cards to be used except during the Christmas holidays.
From Ecclesiastical Curiosities by Various
In St. Augustin's time, as we have seen, they positively forbad the Pope's interference with their internal government, and only submitted to it after they had been enfeebled by the irruption of the Vandals.
From The Church of England cleared from the charge of Schism Upon Testimonies of Councils and Fathers of the first six centuries by T. W. (Thomas William) Allies
But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?
From "Granny's Chapters" (on scriptural subjects) by Lady Mary Ross
His worship the mayor expressly forbad me to speak of what I knew to anyone in our town, or even to you, for he says it would only trouble you needlessly.
From An Old Story of My Farming Days Vol. III (of III). (Ut Mine Stromtid) by Fritz Reuter
Yet he is so bad at ABS challenges that manager Dave Roberts forbade Pages from challenging pitches after his unsuccessful challenge in the NL Division Series opener Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
But there were accusations from some BBC staff that Wilcox, who was her boss as well as her husband, was furthering her career, pointing out that BBC rules forbade married couples working together.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 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
The government forbade any trafficking in Indian antiquities and had given the priest a general concession, authorizing him to catalogue whatever he found and hand it over to the museum.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Conversations with others is one thing, and watching movies without headphones is forbidden, but dictating out loud when she could type is an irritating loophole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
Gender segregation is standard practice for many Orthodox Jews but is forbidden in public places by the government of socially liberal Tel Aviv.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
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
Set during the Troubles in Northern Ireland it was a story of cross-community forbidden love between a young Catholic teacher and a married Protestant barrister.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
“We water monsters are forbidden from sharing our songs with humans,” Pond said.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Diehards might find fault with something or other, but, to quote the author, you’d have to possess a “most forbidding, disagreeable countenance” not to be charmed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
But “The Grapes of Wrath” and “East of Eden”—the latter of which Zoe Kazan has now adapted into a thoroughly absorbing series with an astonishing Florence Pugh—are forbidding tomes, for students and teachers alike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
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
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
Taylor tried to lead the way, but many of the girls ran scattershot for the forbidding jungle, scrambling over brambles, scraping their tender flesh against the prickly trunks of the palms.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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