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.

See Examples For:

God forbid

"Jane doesn't want some other woman, if God forbid this happens to them, to be left on their own, thrown overboard like she was."

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

"God forbid I raise my standards," she laughs.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

“Because God forbid they start watching ‘The View’ or something.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

“Also, as a single parent, she was very aware of ‘anything can happen,’ and she wanted us to have a safety net if, God forbid, something happened,” Avery said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

God forbid Ryan Cross walks by and gets the wrong idea.

From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

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