forbid
Americanverb (used with object)
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forbids,
present (3rd person singular)
-
forbade,
past participle, past
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forbid,
past participle, past
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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.
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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
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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
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forbidsimple
-
forbidssimple
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have forbadeperfect
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have forbidperfect
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have forbiddenperfect
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has forbadeperfect
-
has forbidperfect
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has forbiddenperfect
-
am forbiddingprogressive
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are forbiddingprogressive
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is forbiddingprogressive
-
have been forbiddingperfect progressive
-
has been forbiddingperfect progressive
Past
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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:
Scarier yet, it’s possible that someone—or, heaven forbid, some A.I. detector—might mistake my text for ChatGPT’s.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
Want emails or financial records or, heaven forbid, anything from the police?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
While the Fed’s rules don’t flatly forbid closed-door meetings, they instruct officials to avoid sharing personal policy views with anyone who could profit financially unless those views are already public.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
If, heaven forbid, something breaks or gets stolen, it will be your responsibility.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
The inward person doth shrink and hesitate before the daunting inception of active deeds, wishing that some discouraging voice should intervene and forbid, so that no hazard might be made.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
The department has long had a policy that forbids retaliation against officers who report misconduct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
A super-injunction is a court-mandated gagging order that forbids news outlets from reporting private or sensitive information.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Some of those strikes could violate international law, which forbids attacking civilian infrastructure.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
Washington has vehemently opposed Tehran's desire to charge tolls in the strait, which international law generally forbids.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
Of course, the wretched Secrets Act forbids me from inquiring about what I observed, so I’ll have to puzzle it out on my own.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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
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
The people were commanded to purify themselves and wash their garments, and Moses forbad any one to approach the mountain.
From The History of Antiquity, Vol. I (of VI) by Max Duncker
And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
From Walks and Words of Jesus A Paragraph Harmony of the Four Evangelists by M. N. Olmsted
What the Church forbad was forbidden, and when her laws were broken or her wishes not complied with, the culprit had to pay the penalty.
From Bygone Church Life in Scotland by Various
After the judge forbade them from using certain PowerPoint slides, Halem’s former attorneys decided against presenting an opening statement to jurors, scuttling any possibility of a favorable outcome, Weimortz said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
In an earlier era, George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, forbade his players to wear their hair long or have beards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 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
Presumably even they respected the ancient law which forbade the killing of another hunter.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
A defense of yelling in restaurants: It’s a forbidden behavior in today’s restaurants—but Amanda Albee spoke to chefs who say it massively improved their careers.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
This wasn’t just because a third term is forbidden by the Constitution.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
Even after New Jersey legalized casinos in the 1970s, sports betting outside Nevada was mostly forbidden.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
He is also forbidden from trying to contact Mountbatten-Windsor directly or indirectly, or approach him, or enter Norfolk.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
She performed forbidden aerial stunts over the airfield when she returned from a mission and got away with it.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Daniels isn’t pleased, informing LSU through his attorney that he “feels profoundly disrespected” and forbidding the school to use his name, image and likeness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 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
On Wednesday, China enacted rules forbidding chatbots designed for companionship from encouraging emotional reliance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The New York Times calling it "cold and forbidding", while the Washington Post described it as a "time warp."
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
Grandma had explained to us that by age six or eight, we would be separated by very strict lines forbidding us to ever speak to each other again, except if absolutely necessary.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
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.
