forbid

[fer-bid, fawr-]

verb (used with object)

forbade, forbad, forbid, forbidden, 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. may it not happen

Other Word Forms

• forbidder noun
• forbiddance 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

"It could be your mother, it could be your sibling, God forbid it could be your kid who one day needs this," she said.

From BBC

“In fact, the evidence cuts in the opposite direction. Abortion not only lacked long-standing protection in American law – it had long been forbidden.”

From Salon

They added that its AI Studio rules forbid "direct impersonation of public figures".

From BBC

Once upon a time, in places like pre-Civil War Virginia and North Carolina, the law forbade enslaved people from gathering for any reason, even to worship.

From Salon

Written notes were forbidden during the secret meetings, but an ICO memo detailing the whole timeline was drawn up after the incident became public just last month.

From BBC

Related Words

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