inhibit
Americanverb (used with object)
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inhibits,
present (3rd person singular)
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inhibited,
past participle, past
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inhibiting
present participle
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to restrain, hinder, arrest, or check (an action, impulse, etc.).
- Synonyms:
- obstruct, discourage, repress
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to prohibit; forbid.
- Synonyms:
- interdict
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Psychology. to consciously or unconsciously suppress or restrain (psychologically or sociologically unacceptable behavior).
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Chemistry. to decrease the rate of action of or stop (a chemical reaction).
verb
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to restrain or hinder (an impulse, a desire, etc)
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to prohibit; forbid
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to stop, prevent, or decrease the rate of (a chemical reaction)
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electronics
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to prevent the occurrence of (a particular signal) in a circuit
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to prevent the performance of (a particular operation)
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Usage
What’s the difference between inhibit and prohibit? Prohibit most commonly means to forbid or disallow, but it can also mean what inhibit usually means—to prevent or hinder. Inhibit can also mean to forbid, but this use is much less common. Prohibit is most commonly used in the context of rules, especially official ones like laws. The speed limit prohibits you from going above a certain speed. Parents might prohibit their kids from eating candy before dinner, but the word forbid is more commonly used in cases like this. Inhibit, on the other hand, is usually used in the context of things that prevent or hinder what someone is trying to do. Speed bumps are designed to inhibit speeding. A leg injury can inhibit your ability to walk. The meaning of prohibit and inhibit most often overlaps in cases when something is inhibited to the point of almost not being able to happen at all, as in This cast is designed to prohibit movement (prohibit could be replaced with inhibit in this sentence without much or any change in meaning). The adjective form inhibited is often used to indicate that someone or something is held back from full potential. When it’s applied to a person, it usually involves a mental, emotional, or psychological block, as in I feel less inhibited around my new group of friends—they accept me for who I am. The adjective prohibited describes something that’s forbidden, as in The sign lists all of the prohibited activities. Here’s an example of inhibit and prohibit used correctly in the same sentence. Example: To inhibit the acceleration of climate change, we must prohibit any increase in fossil fuel emissions. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between inhibit and prohibit.
Synonym Usage
See forbid.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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overinhibitverb (used with object)
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inhibitableadjective
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inhibitiveadjective
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inhibitoryadjective
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uninhibitingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inhibitsimple
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inhibitssimple
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have inhibitedperfect
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has inhibitedperfect
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am inhibitingprogressive
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are inhibitingprogressive
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is inhibitingprogressive
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have been inhibitingperfect progressive
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has been inhibitingperfect progressive
Past
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inhibitedsimple
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had inhibitedperfect
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was inhibitingprogressive
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were inhibitingprogressive
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had been inhibitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inhibit
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English inhibiten, from Latin inhibitus, past participle of inhibēre “to restrain,” equivalent to in- in- 2 + -hibēre, combining form of habēre “to have, hold”
Explanation
When you inhibit something, you block it or hold it back. If you put plants in a dark room, you inhibit their growth. A teacher who mocks their students for giving wrong answers inhibits their willingness to speak up in class. When you look at the word inhibit, think hinder. Though it sounds like it might be a bad thing to inhibit something else, there is no judgment built into the word. A drug that inhibits the growth of cancer cells would generally be considered a very good thing. While you may wish cancer cells to be inhibited, you probably don't wish it upon your friend's sense of humor or your country's economic growth.
Vocabulary lists containing inhibit
Advanced English Words
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "I"
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 3
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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:
By recreating techniques believed to have been used by Neanderthals, the team produced birch tar and tested its ability to inhibit harmful bacteria.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
In 2007, responding to a proposed British boycott of Israel, PEN declared that it “emphatically opposes any efforts to inhibit the free international exchange of literature, art, information, or knowledge.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
After a fire, heavy metal particles can spread through ash and smoke over gardens and inhibit growth, said Olukayode Jegede, an agricultural toxicologist and assistant professor at UC Davis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
US forecasters have already predicted a "below normal" Atlantic hurricane season as stronger upper-level winds can inhibit storm development.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
Their role was to act as agents provocateurs, and they would attempt to push us around, take our food, and inhibit any political discussions we tried to have.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
The study, published in Nature Cell Biology, is titled "Leucine inhibits degradation of outer mitochondrial membrane proteins to adapt mitochondrial respiration."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026
Too much bracken inhibits the growth of the dog violet, the food source for the caterpillars.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The massive share of China’s CPU market that Intel and AMD have enjoyed for decades inhibits the development of Chinese alternatives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
El-Hasan added that air pollution “also inhibits lung development in children, which can lead to reduced lung capacity as adults. This is not reversible. Once it happens, it’s done.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
I reject the break room for this purpose because the TV inhibits conversation, and for all I know that’s what it’s supposed to do.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
“An alien mind,” to borrow Mr. Pachocki’s phrase, is capable of decision-making a lot less haphazard, inhibited and contradictory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Their growth was inhibited at concentrations as low as 2.5 milligrams per milliliter.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
Possibly the same fear of making value judgments that has inhibited Bonnie from imposing common-sense discipline in her classroom has robbed “For Want of a Horse” of a propulsive point of view.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 21, 2026
The US State Department said last year that "official complicity, including at senior levels, inhibited effective law enforcement action against trafficking crimes" in Cambodia.
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
At night, by some chemical process unknown to me but obviously inhibited by sunlight, the predatory algae turned highly acidic and the ponds became vats of acid that digested the fish.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
In preclinical studies, the Sylvester team found that inhibiting IL1RAP changed the tumor microenvironment in several important ways.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
The drug works by inhibiting RAS proteins that promote tumor growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026
"We want to make sure that we're not at all inhibiting the more positive aspect that might actually be helping to slow the disease down naturally."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 27, 2026
Their results indicated that despite inhibiting these ammonia oxidizers -- mostly archaea that are abundant in the dark ocean -- the rate of carbon fixation in the study areas didn't drop as much as expected.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 10, 2025
The toxin does the deed insidiously, indirectly, by inhibiting an enzyme essential to glycoprotein metabolism.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
