Library / English Dictionary

FORBID

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: forbad    , forbade    , forbidden    , forbidding   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Command against

Example:

Dad nixed our plans

Synonyms:

disallow; forbid; interdict; nix; prohibit; proscribe; veto

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "forbid" is one way to...):

command; require (make someone do something)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "forbid"):

ban (prohibit especially by legal means or social pressure)

bar; debar; exclude (prevent from entering; keep out)

enjoin (issue an injunction)

criminalise; criminalize; illegalise; illegalize; outlaw (declare illegal; outlaw)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue forbid the movie

Antonym:

permit (consent to, give permission)

Derivation:

forbiddance (the action of prohibiting or inhibiting or forbidding (or an instance thereof))

forbiddance; forbidding (an official prohibition or edict against something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Keep from happening or arising; make impossible

Example:

Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project

Synonyms:

forbid; foreclose; forestall; preclude; prevent

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "forbid"):

inhibit (prohibit, forbid, or prevent from doing something)

make unnecessary; save (make unnecessary an expenditure or effort)

avert; avoid; debar; deflect; fend off; forefend; forfend; head off; obviate; stave off; ward off (prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening)

block; blockade; embarrass; hinder; obstruct; stymie; stymy (hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of)

baffle; bilk; cross; foil; frustrate; queer; scotch; spoil; thwart (hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of)

block; halt; kibosh; stop (stop from happening or developing)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

It had come, at last, love had come, when I least expected it and under the most forbidding conditions.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He takes the obvious course of keeping her at home and forbidding her to seek the company of people of her own age.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I approached and knocked at the door, which was instantly opened by a tall, gaunt woman with a harsh, forbidding face.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Did I forbid myself to think of him in any other light than as a paymaster?

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Emma blushed, and forbade its being pronounced in her hearing.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

God forbid that I should undervalue the warm and faithful feelings of any of my fellow-creatures!

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

My feelings in every respect forbid it.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

A more reasonable cause might be found in the dependent situation which forbade the indulgence of his affection.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Why did such an idea occur to her even enough to be reprobated and forbidden?

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

In the course of this morning's reflections, she came to a resolution of making her next attempt on the forbidden door alone.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)