inhibited
AmericanOther Word 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.
“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
"Oversharing policy deliberations and overcommitting to future decisions can lead markets, businesses, and households astray," he said, adding it also inhibited the Fed the "freedom to make the right calls when it's time to decide".
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 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
From what I could see, they lived dull, inhibited lives.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
