English Dictionary
Definition of “forbid”
forbid (fəˈbɪd
)
Definitions
verb
(tr) - to prohibit (a person) in a forceful or authoritative manner (from doing something or having something)
- to make impossible; hinder
- to shut out or exclude
- See God forbid!
Alternative Forms
forˈbiddance noun forˈbidder noun Word Origin
Old English forbēodan ; related to Old High German farbiotan , Gothic faurbiudan; see for-, bid
Synonyms
View thesaurus entry
=
prohibit,
ban,
disallow,
proscribe,
exclude,
rule out,
veto,
outlaw,
inhibit,
hinder,
preclude,
make illegal
debar,
interdict,
criminalize,
Quotations
"God forbid"
Bible: Romans"It is forbidden to forbid"
French student graffiti
Translations
- British English:
forbid
If you forbid someone to do something, or if you forbid an activity, you order that it must not be done.The government has forbidden the sale of these products.fəˈbɪd VERB The government has forbidden the sale of these products.
- Spanish:
prohibir
v
- French:
interdire
v
- German:
verbieten
v
- Chinese: 禁止 v
- Arabic: يُحَرِّمُ vt
- Portuguese: proibir v
- Russian: запрещать v
- Croatian: zabraniti v
- Czech: zakázat v zakazovat
- Danish: forbyde v
- Dutch: verbieden v
- Finnish: kieltää v
- Greek: απαγορεύω v
- Italian: vietare v
- Japanese: 禁じる v
- Korean: 금하다 v
- Norwegian: forby v
- Polish: zakazać v zakazywać
- Brazilian Portuguese: proibir v
- European Spanish:
prohibir
v
- Swedish: förbjuda v
- Thai: ห้าม v
- Turkish: yasaklamak v
- Vietnamese: cấm v
Usage examples
They do it all the time anyway without provocation heaven forbid I provoke them!
Shell, Ray, Iced (1993)However, it was unable to offer lower tariffs than those of the VSNL since the regulations forbid competitive rates.
Business Today (1998)Let us read Frum again, after Iraq, and, God forbid , after North Korea.
Globe and Mail (2003)I would have thought that the GMC ethical code would forbid such a practice.
Sun, News of the World (2000)But limits were placed on West German rearmament, the most important of which was to forbid the manufacture of nuclear weapons.
Grenville, J. A. S., The Collins History of the World in the 20th Century (1994)
