forbid

[ fer-bid, fawr- ]

verb (used with object)

forbade or forbad or forbid, forbidden or forbid, forbidding.

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 Word Forms

• 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

But the Writers Guild of America West issued an advisory Wednesday forbidding its members from working on the film.

From Los Angeles Times

"Russians are trying to ban everything Ukrainian here: language, and also traditions. Even Ukrainian holidays are forbidden."

From BBC

Last week, the Israeli military dropped fliers above Koawaya, telling villagers they were forbidden from having arms when they moved around in the village and its environs.

From Los Angeles Times

That gives the anti-vaccine message an allure of "forbidden" knowledge, making it even more powerful than if he just came right out and said what he really thinks.

From Salon

Last year, while Republicans were trying to de-gay the flagpoles of our embassies, the world also learned that Russia’s Supreme Court declared the rainbow flag was forbidden in its country.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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