proscribe
Americanverb (used with object)
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proscribes,
present (3rd person singular)
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proscribed,
past participle, past
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proscribing
present participle
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to denounce or condemn (a thing) as dangerous or harmful; prohibit.
- Synonyms:
- repudiate, disapprove, censure
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to put outside the protection of the law; outlaw.
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to banish or exile.
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to announce the name of (a person) as condemned to death and subject to confiscation of property.
verb
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to condemn or prohibit
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to outlaw; banish; exile
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(in ancient Rome) to outlaw (a citizen) by posting his name in public
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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proscribesimple
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proscribessimple
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have proscribedperfect
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has proscribedperfect
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am proscribingprogressive
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are proscribingprogressive
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is proscribingprogressive
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have been proscribingperfect progressive
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has been proscribingperfect progressive
Past
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proscribedsimple
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had proscribedperfect
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was proscribingprogressive
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were proscribingprogressive
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had been proscribingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of proscribe
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin prōscrībere to publish in writing, confiscate, outlaw. See pro- 1, prescribe
Explanation
To proscribe something is to forbid or prohibit it, as a school principal might proscribe the use of cell phones in class. Proscribe sounds similar to the word prescribe, but be careful: these words are essentially opposite in meaning. While proscribe means forbid, prescribe is used when a doctor recommends a medicine or remedy. Of course, if you want an excuse for not following your doctor’s orders, you could say you were confused about the meaning of these two words — but that would be lying, which is proscribed by most people’s value systems. And it would also be bad for your health.
Vocabulary lists containing proscribe
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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:
A final deal should proscribe all tolls, mines and forced routes, restoring unrestricted free passage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
The government already has powers to proscribe organisations under the Terrorism Act 2000.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
The judge said the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action “certainly does not proscribe any particular classroom speech, or relate at all to curricular choices.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called the incident "disgraceful" when announcing her decision to proscribe the group.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2025
And my great founder's edict thus revived—should they persist in prostituting justice's name, I will throw wide my abbey-gates, and pardoning all they dare proscribe, make it a bulwark 'gainst the common foe!
From The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 6, June 1810 by S. C. (Stephen Cullen) Carpenter
When arguments concludeed, it seemed inevitable that the court would agree with the EEOC, reject the DOJ’s wackadoodle theories, and find that Title VII already proscribes anti-gay employment discrimination.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2017
“The FTC Act proscribes — and the 1st Amendment does not protect — deceptive and misleading advertisements,” U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2015
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that “Chinese law proscribes any form of hacking activity.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2010
The challenged provision, however, proscribes persuasion in a public place, speech that unwilling listeners can walk away from.
From Washington Post
Science, which you believe has no power over her, is redoubtable to her, since she proscribes it.
From Anatole France The Revolt of the Angels by Anatole France
Most "arrests have been for expressing support for a proscribed organisation", the police said in a post on X.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
The five have also been charged with using symbols of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, which is proscribed as a "terrorist organisation" in Germany.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Other groups like the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been proscribed.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja has been arrested on suspicion of showing support for the proscribed organisation Palestine Action.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026
Technological advance required the freest possible pursuit of knowledge, so Holland became the leading publisher and bookseller in Europe, translating works written in other languages and permitting the publication of works proscribed elsewhere.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
But stewarding that authority demands humility and faith in the university’s distinct role in cultivating debate—neither proscribing questions nor prescribing answers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
In another post, he retweeted a link to an article on Bari Weiss’ conservative news site, The Free Press, proscribing a “fix” for children using their phones.
From Salon ● Dec. 10, 2024
But the Home Office and the Foreign Office are said to be at odds over proscribing the IRGC.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2023
Because of constitutional constraints proscribing Japan from providing Ukraine lethal weapons, Sato said Kishida’s trip was “a minimum requirement” for the chair of the G-7.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Soon he was proscribing parts of salutations and signatures and leaving the text untouched.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
