forbid

[ fer-bid, fawr- ]

verb (used with object)

, for·bade or for·bad or for·bid, for·bid·den or for·bid, for·bid·ding.

1. to command (a person) not to do something, have something, etc., or not to enter some place:

   She forbade him entry to the house.

   Synonyms: interdict

2. to prohibit (something); make a rule or law against:

   to forbid the use of lipstick; to forbid smoking.

   Synonyms: interdict

3. to hinder or prevent; make impossible.

   Synonyms: deter, obviate, stop, preclude

4. to exclude; bar:

   Burlesque is forbidden in many cities.

forbid

/ fəˈbɪd /

verb

1. to prohibit (a person) in a forceful or authoritative manner (from doing something or having something)
2. to make impossible; hinder
3. to shut out or exclude
4. God forbid!
   may it not happen

Derived Forms

• forˈbidder, noun
• forˈbiddance, noun

Other Words From

• for·bidder noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of forbid¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English forbeden, Old English forbēodan. See for-, bid ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of forbid¹

Old English forbēodan ; related to Old High German farbiotan , Gothic faurbiudan ; see for- , bid

Idioms and Phrases

see god forbid .

Synonym Study

Forbid, inhibit, prohibit, taboo indicate a command to refrain from some action. Forbid, a common and familiar word, usually denotes a direct or personal command of this sort: I forbid you to go. It was useless to forbid children to play in the park. Inhibit implies a checking or hindering of impulses by the mind, sometimes involuntarily: to inhibit one's desires; His responsiveness was inhibited by extreme shyness. Prohibit, a formal or legal word, means usually to forbid by official edict, enactment, or the like: to prohibit the sale of liquor. Taboo, primarily associated with primitive superstition, means to prohibit by common disapproval and by social custom: to taboo a subject in polite conversation.

Example Sentences

‘Satanic Verses’ Ban Ends: In 1988, India issued an order forbidding the import of Salman Rushdie’s novel “The Satanic Verses.”

From New York Times

In California, home to a sizeable population of mixed families with undocumented members, officials are forbidden from asking students about immigration status.

From BBC

In her September order, Olmedo forbade the attorneys from directly contacting jurors.

From Los Angeles Times

Whether it winds up forbidding mandatory work for prisoners will probably be determined in the courts.

From Los Angeles Times

Komal’s morning view was of jagged, forbidding mountains, the rush of the river dozens of metres below the family home on the cliff.

From BBC

Related Words

• ban
• block
• cancel
• censor
• deny
• deprive
• disallow
• enjoin
• exclude
• freeze
• halt
• hinder
• impede
• inhibit
• oppose
• preclude
• prevent
• proscribe
• restrain
• restrict