taboo

Or ta·bu

[tuh-boo, ta-]

adjective

1. proscribed by society as improper or unacceptable.

   Taboo language is usually bleeped on TV.

   Synonyms: forbidden
   Antonyms: permissible, allowed

2. prohibited or excluded from use or practice.

   In art school, painting from photographs was taboo.

3. (among the Polynesians and other peoples of the South Pacific) separated or set apart as sacred; forbidden for general use; placed under a prohibition or ban.

   Synonyms: inviolable, sacrosanct

noun

plural

taboos 

1. a prohibition or interdiction of anything; exclusion from use or practice.

   One of the strongest taboos in all modern societies is against incest.

   Synonyms: no-no, interdiction, embargo, proscription, ban

2. (among the Polynesians and other peoples of the South Pacific)

   1. the system, practice, or act whereby things are set apart as sacred, forbidden for general use, or placed under a prohibition or interdiction.

   2. the condition of being so set apart, forbidden, or interdicted.

3. exclusion from social relations; ostracism.

verb (used with object)

tabooed, tabooing 

1. to put under a taboo; prohibit or forbid.

   Synonyms: proscribe, forbid, ban, prohibit
   Antonyms: sanction, permit, allow

2. to ostracize (a person, group, etc.).

   While he is tabooed, no one may speak to him.

taboo

/ təˈbuː /

adjective

1. forbidden or disapproved of; placed under a social prohibition or ban

   taboo words

2. (in Polynesia and other islands of the South Pacific) marked off as simultaneously sacred and forbidden

noun

1. any prohibition resulting from social or other conventions

2. ritual restriction or prohibition, esp of something that is considered holy or unclean

verb

1. (tr) to place under a taboo

taboo

1. A descriptive term for words, objects, actions, or people that are forbidden by a group or culture. The expression comes from the religion of islanders of the South Pacific.

Word History and Origins

Origin of taboo¹

First recorded in 1770–80; from Tongan tabu “forbidden, prohibited”; the spellings tabu and taboo both appear in Captain James Cook's journal in 1777

Word History and Origins

Origin of taboo¹

C18: from Tongan tapu

Synonym Study

See forbid.

Example Sentences

And that is — or was, I guess? — formerly maybe more taboo.

From Los Angeles Times

"It's not taboo to be British, we should be proud to be British."

From BBC

She has visited women's refuges, challenged the taboos surrounding domestic abuse and at a reception for International Women's Day held up stones that in 1914 been thrown by suffragettes to break windows in Buckingham Palace.

From BBC

And it’s also the perfect encapsulation of an emerging culinary-adjacent dichotomy: Human breast milk consumption is more visible than ever, but consuming the actual stuff still feels pretty taboo.

From Salon

That, however, is the conclusion of virtually all of American journalism, because there is a deep-seated taboo that has become all the stronger for being tacitly accepted.

From Salon

Related Words

• anathema 
• inhibition 
• no-no 
• prohibition 
• stricture 
• superstition 

When To Use

What is taboo?

Taboo describes an activity or behavior that is considered completely unacceptable or forbidden. A taboo is also the prohibition from engaging in such an activity or behavior through social rules, laws, religious doctrine, and even by your own conscience.Something considered taboo is considered unacceptable by the vast majority of a person’s social group. Often, there is a serious punishment for performing the taboo activity.Many activities that we refer to as crimes are examples of taboos, such as theft, murder, and kidnapping. These activities are considered unacceptable by the government or the law and have strict punishments.Sacred religious writings also outline specific activities as taboo and shouldn’t be done by the religion’s followers. For example, Jewish law considers pork to be taboo, so many Jewish people do not eat pork.Sometimes, taboos are so unacceptable to a society that laws are not needed to forbid people from doing them. Even thinking about them or reading about them can make you feel disgusted, which gives you an idea of how powerful the label of taboo can be.