What does forbid mean?

Definitions for forbid
fərˈbɪd, fɔr-for·bid

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word forbid.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. forbid, prohibit, interdict, proscribe, veto, disallow, nixverb

    command against

    "I forbid you to call me late at night"; "Mother vetoed the trip to the chocolate store"; "Dad nixed our plans"

  2. prevent, forestall, foreclose, preclude, forbidverb

    keep from happening or arising; make impossible

    "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project"

Wiktionary

  1. forbidverb

    To disallow

  2. forbidverb

    To proscribe

  3. Etymology: From forbeden, from forbeodan, equivalent to. Cognate with verbieden, verbieten, förbjuda.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To FORBIDverb

    pret. I forbade; part. forbidden or forbid.

    Etymology: forbeodan , Saxon; verbieden, Dutch.

    A witch, a quean, an old cozening quean; have I not forbid her my house? William Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Windsor.

    By tasting of that fruit forbid,
    Where they sought knowledge, they did error find. Davies.

    The voice of reason, in all the dictates of natural morality, ought carefully to be attended to, by a strict observance of what it commands, but especially of what it forbids. South.

    All hatred of persons, by very many Christian principles, we are most solemnly and indispensably forbid. Thomas Sprat, Serm.

    The chaste and holy race
    Are all forbidden this polluted place. John Dryden, Æn. b. vi.

    She with so sweet a rigour forbad him, that he durst not rebel. Philip Sidney, b. ii.

    It is the shameful work of Hubert’s hand,
    The practice and the purpose of the king,
    From whose obedience I forbid my soul. William Shakespeare.

    They have determined to consume all those things that God hath forbidden them to eat by his laws. Judith xi. 12.

    The moisture being forbidden to come up in the plant, stayeth longer in the root, and so dilateth it. Francis Bacon, Nat. History.

    The plaister alone would pen the humour, and so exasperate it as well as forbid new humour. Francis Bacon, Natural History.

    Thy throne is darkness in th’ abyss of light,
    A blaze of glory that forbids the sight!
    O teach me to believe thee thus conceal’d,
    And search no farther than thyself reveal’d. Dryden.

    Sleep shall neither night nor day
    Hang upon his penthouse lid;
    He shall live a man forbid. William Shakespeare, Macbeth.

  2. To Forbidverb

    To utter a prohibition.

    Now the good gods forbid,
    That our renowned Rome
    Should now eat up her own! William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

ChatGPT

  1. forbid

    To forbid means to officially or authoritatively command or instruct someone not to do something; to disallow, prohibit or prevent a certain action or behavior. It can also refer to making something impossible due to particular circumstances or rules.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Forbid

    of Forbid

  2. Forbidverb

    to command against, or contrary to; to prohibit; to interdict

  3. Forbidverb

    to deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command; to command not to enter

  4. Forbidverb

    to oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command; as, an impassable river forbids the approach of the army

  5. Forbidverb

    to accurse; to blast

  6. Forbidverb

    to defy; to challenge

  7. Forbidverb

    to utter a prohibition; to prevent; to hinder

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Forbid

    for-bid′, v.t. to prohibit: to command not to do: (Shak.) to restrain.—n. Forbid′dance, prohibition: command or edict against a thing.—adj. Forbid′den, prohibited: unlawful.—adv. Forbid′denly (Shak.), in a forbidden or unlawful manner.—adj. Forbid′ding, repulsive: raising dislike: unpleasant.—adv. Forbid′dingly.—n. Forbid′dingness.—Forbidden, or Prohibited, degrees, degrees of consanguinity within which marriage is not allowed; Forbidden fruit, or Adam's apple, a name fancifully given to the fruit of various species of Citrus, esp. to one having tooth-marks on its rind. [A.S. forbéodan, pa.t. forbéad, pa.p. forboden. See pfx. for-, and bid; cf. Ger. verbieten.]

Suggested Resources

  1. Forbid

    Forbid vs. Prohibit -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Forbid and Prohibit.

British National Corpus

  1. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'forbid' in Verbs Frequency: #932

How to pronounce forbid?

How to say forbid in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of forbid in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of forbid in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of forbid in a Sentence

  1. Megan Ranney:

    It's a way to allow people to get Moderna COVID-19 vaccine or the additional booster. But it also provides them with the flexibility so that should BA.2 be worse than we're expecting, they can then quickly roll it out. or God forbid, should there be another variant in the next couple of months that requires another booster they can quickly roll it out. So I'm reading it that way.

  2. Bezalel Smotrich:

    I think the village of Huwara needs to be erased, i think the State of Israel needs to do this, and not – God forbid – private citizens.

  3. David Miller:

    The law does not forbid pictures of the sunset, it was intended to prevent trespassers from collecting any information, a water sample, a soil sample, a rock sample on private land without landowner’s permission.

  4. Ethan Williams:

    I would say that regardless of your politics, Republican or Democrat, this is a serious problem for New Yorkers and a problem you must deal with before, God forbid, your phone rings, much of the conversation around bail reform has become nothing more than a boxing match over which elections are being decided.

  5. Abdul Ali Ladhari:

    We went and covered up the tourists that died -- God rest their souls -- and waited, terrified, in complete chaos. We were scared that -- God forbid -- there might be a second shooter. It was all just a mess.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

forbid#10000#23833#100000

Translations for forbid

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"forbid." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/forbid>.

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