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.
She is often seen wearing her hair long, which is forbidden for her peers, and wearing designer clothes, which are out of reach for most in her country.
From BBC
We have the book to thank for so many tropes: forbidden love, friends-to-lovers.
From Los Angeles Times
To partake of the forbidden apple cake—and who could resist it?—is to know that joy is always ringed by sorrow, and made sweeter for it.
A kitchen cat stared defiantly from the forbidden counter; Grief was nowhere in sight.
From Literature
But entering the store—our store—was now forbidden.
From Literature
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.
