inhibited
AmericanOther Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of inhibited
First recorded in 1960–65; inhibit + -ed 2 ( def. )
Explanation
If something is inhibited it's held back or kept from doing something. An inhibited infection is kept from spreading, possibly by antibiotics. We often use the word inhibited to describe someone’s behavior, especially if that person is self-conscious about doing something, but it also describes the simple fact of being restrained. If you washed your pants in hot water and they shrank and you could just barely squeeze them on, your movement would be inhibited. The Latin root of inhibited is inhibere, "to hold in or hold back."
Vocabulary lists containing inhibited
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
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Lesson 4
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"Love's Vocabulary" by Diane Ackerman
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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.
“Dominion owns attractive regulated assets that have been inhibited by a high payout ratio and constrained balance sheet,” he said in a research note Monday.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
Once this protein was inhibited, the older muscle stem cells began behaving more like young ones.
From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026
It was something neither she nor her coaches had ever clocked from just straight video footage, inhibited by limiting angles and baggy snowboarding clothing.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
BBC Sport looks at the factors that inhibited one of England's most talented group of players.
From BBC • Oct. 8, 2025
From the moment in which she entered the room Úrsula felt inhibited by the maturity of her son, by his aura of command, by the glow of authority that radiated from his skin.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
