forbidding

[fer-bid-ing, fawr-]

adjective

1. grim; unfriendly; hostile; sinister.

   his forbidding countenance.

2. dangerous; threatening.

   forbidding clouds; forbidding cliffs.

forbidding

/ fəˈbɪdɪŋ /

adjective

1. hostile or unfriendly

2. dangerous or ominous

Other Word Forms

• forbiddingly adverb
• forbiddingness noun
• unforbidding adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of forbidding¹

First recorded in 1710–15; forbid + -ing ²

Example Sentences

The locomotive was a gleaming scarlet, with a forbidding front grille of inky black.

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"That way you're not stopping the friendship or forbidding the interaction but you're drawing a line about what shouldn't be repeated or endorsed."

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In the rare 1980 interview with the BBC, she also described the relationship between the monarchy and people in Thailand, which continues to observe strict lese-majeste laws forbidding insult of the monarchy.

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The orders fulfill the constitutional requirement of equal protection of the laws, forbidding government from treating people differently based on race.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

California joined Oregon’s lawsuit, and at an emergency hearing, Immergut issued another temporary order forbidding the administration from deploying any National Guard units to Oregon, regardless of where they muster.

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Related Words

• frightening www.thesaurus.com
• grim 
• menacing 
• off-putting 
• sinister 
• threatening