Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

forbidden

American  
[fer-bid-n, fawr-] / fərˈbɪd n, fɔr- /

verb

  1. a past participle of forbid.

adjective

  1. not allowed; prohibited.

    a forbidden food in his religion.

  2. Physics. involving a change in quantum numbers that is not permitted by the selection rules.

    forbidden transition.
forbidden British  
/ fəˈbɪdən /

adjective

  1. not permitted by order or law

  2. physics involving a change in quantum numbers that is not permitted by certain rules derived from quantum mechanics, esp rules for changes in the electrical dipole moment of the system

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

It was formerly considered incorrect to talk of forbidding someone from doing something, but in modern usage either from or to can be used: he was forbidden from entering/to enter the building

Other Word Forms

  • forbiddenly adverb
  • forbiddenness noun
  • preforbidden adjective
  • self-forbidden adjective
  • unforbidden adjective

Etymology

Origin of forbidden

First recorded in 1200–50, for the adjective

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.