forbidden
Americanverb
adjective
-
not allowed; prohibited.
a forbidden food in his religion.
-
Physics. involving a change in quantum numbers that is not permitted by the selection rules.
forbidden transition.
adjective
-
not permitted by order or law
-
physics involving a change in quantum numbers that is not permitted by certain rules derived from quantum mechanics, esp rules for changes in the electrical dipole moment of the system
Usage
It was formerly considered incorrect to talk of forbidding someone from doing something, but in modern usage either from or to can be used: he was forbidden from entering/to enter the building
Other Word Forms
- forbiddenly adverb
- forbiddenness noun
- preforbidden adjective
- self-forbidden adjective
- unforbidden adjective
Etymology
Origin of forbidden
First recorded in 1200–50, for the adjective
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.
There was just one problem: Johnston, a senior shooting guard for High Point University, is usually forbidden from attempting a shot anywhere near the rim.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
Since 1996 Cambodian law has forbidden the unauthorised removal of antiquities, with a prison punishment of up to eight years.
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
Except in very restricted circumstances, slurry spreading is forbidden in Northern Ireland from 15 October to the following 31 January.
From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026
The shift in attitude hasn’t been firmly diagrammed; instead, what’s going on here is mostly subconscious, like a collective unlocking of forbidden territory.
From Slate • Feb. 12, 2026
Though we were forbidden to speak anything but French, the teacher would occasionally use us to practice any of her five fluent languages.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
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.
