God forbid

Idioms

Also, heaven forbid. May God prevent something from happening or being the case. For example, God forbid that they actually encounter a bear, or Heaven forbid that the tornado pulls off the roof. This term, in which heaven also stands for “God,” does not necessarily imply a belief in God's direct intervention but merely expresses a strong wish. [c. 1225] For a synonym, see perish the thought.

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.

If, god forbid, there’s a natural disaster in L.A. in the near future, Jena Malone might be one of your first responders.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

"You don't sleep much when you're away, and god forbid we could've come back and our house could've been gone."

From BBC • Jul. 23, 2025

“Our dear Iraq is seeing a tremendous political tension that may threaten dire consequences; god forbid if the wise do not interfere,” Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said in a statement.

From Washington Post • Aug. 2, 2022

“The question of their status will surface when they want to get married here or, god forbid, die here,” Ms. Svetlova added.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2022

May god forbid that I should ever obey him!

From The Eleven Comedies, Volume 1 by Aristophanes

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023