What does taboo mean?
Definitions for taboo
təˈbu, tæ-taboo
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word taboo.
Princeton's WordNet
taboo, tabunoun
a prejudice (especially in Polynesia and other South Pacific islands) that prohibits the use or mention of something because of its sacred nature
taboo, tabuadjective
an inhibition or ban resulting from social custom or emotional aversion
forbidden, out(p), prohibited, proscribed, taboo, tabu, verbotenadjective
excluded from use or mention
"forbidden fruit"; "in our house dancing and playing cards were out"; "a taboo subject"
taboo, tabuverb
forbidden to profane use especially in South Pacific islands
tabooverb
declare as sacred and forbidden
Wiktionary
taboonoun
An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion.
taboonoun
Something which may not be used, approached or mentioned because it is sacred.
tabooverb
To mark as taboo.
tabooverb
To ban.
tabooverb
To avoid.
tabooadjective
Excluded or forbidden from use, approach or mention.
Incest is a taboo subject in most soap operas.
Etymology: tapu. The word entered English around 1777. Ultimately from tapu.
Wikipedia
Taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons. Such prohibitions are present in virtually all societies. Taboos may be prohibited explicitly, for example within a legal system or religion, or implicitly, for example by social norms or conventions followed by a particular culture or organization. Taboos are often meant to protect the individual, but there are other reasons for their development. An ecological or medical background is apparent in many, including some that are seen as religious or spiritual in origin. Taboos can help use a resource more efficiently, but when applied to only a subsection of the community they can also serve to suppress said subsection of the community. A taboo acknowledged by a particular group or tribe as part of their ways aids in the cohesion of the group, helps that particular group to stand out and maintain its identity in the face of others and therefore creates a feeling of "belonging".The meaning of the word "taboo" has been somewhat expanded in the social sciences to strong prohibitions relating to any area of human activity or custom that is sacred or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs, or cultural norms. "Breaking a taboo" is usually considered objectionable by society in general, not merely a subset of a culture.
ChatGPT
taboo
Taboo refers to a social or cultural prohibition or restriction that forbids certain behaviors, subjects, or words due to religious or societal norms. These prohibitions are considered unacceptable or inappropriate to talk about or act upon, and could lead to social consequences, criticism, or sanctions when violated.
Webster Dictionary
Taboonoun
a total prohibition of intercourse with, use of, or approach to, a given person or thing under pain of death, -- an interdict of religious origin and authority, formerly common in the islands of Polynesia; interdiction
Tabooverb
to put under taboo; to forbid, or to forbid the use of; to interdict approach to, or use of; as, to taboo the ground set apart as a sanctuary for criminals
Wikidata
Taboo
A taboo is a vehement prohibition of an action based on the belief that such behavior is either too sacred or too accursed for ordinary individuals to undertake, under threat of supernatural punishment. Such prohibitions are present in virtually all societies. The word has been somewhat expanded in the social sciences to include strong prohibitions relating to any area of human activity or custom that is sacred or forbidden based on moral judgment and religious beliefs. "Breaking a taboo" is usually considered objectionable by society in general, not merely a subset of a culture.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Taboo
Tabu, ta-bōō′, n. an institution among the Polynesians, forming a penal system based on religious sanctions, by which certain things are held sacred or consecrated, and hence prohibited to be used—by a natural transference of meaning by association of ideas becoming equivalent to 'unholy,' 'accursed'—also Tamboo′, Tambu′, and Tapu′: any prohibition, interdict, restraint, ban, exclusion, ostracism.—v.t. to forbid approach to: to forbid the use of:—pr.p. tabōō′ing; pa.t. and pa.p. tabōōed′. [Polynesian tapu—prob. ta, to mark, pu, expressing intensity.]
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
Taboo
or Tabu, a solemn prohibition or interdict among the Polynesians under which a particular person or thing is pronounced inviolable, and so sacred, the violation of which entails malediction at the hands of the supernatural powers.
U.S. National Library of Medicine
Taboo
Any negative tradition or behavior that is generally regarded as harmful to social welfare and forbidden within a cultural or social group.
Editors Contribution
tabooverb
A controlled surface of power with authority using a document or page that can be opened on a spreadsheet or Internet browser to show approval, disapproval or contempt to enforce a rule. 1.) A social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing. Designated as sacred and prohibited.
Ownership places a sovereign in leadership to be taboo in their rule.
Etymology: Addiction
Submitted by Tehorah_Elyon on March 14, 2024
Suggested Resources
taboo
Song lyrics by taboo -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by taboo on the Lyrics.com website.
Etymology and Origins
Taboo
Strictly speaking, there is no such word as “tabooed,” yet we generally find it employed in the place of “taboo.” The latter is the European rendering of the Polynesian tapu, signifying a thing reserved or consecrated to the use of one person. For a South Sea Islander to exclaim tapu when he sees anything that he fancies, is tantamount to saying “I claim this thing; anyone else who touches it shall die.” Amongst ourselves a subject which is taboo must not be discussed.
Matched Categories
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
- [["1726","6"],["1727","2"],["1735","1"],["1777","1"],["1783","5"],["1784","110"],["1785","14"],["1788","5"],["1789","2"],["1790","6"],["1792","2"],["1793","23"],["1796","18"],["1797","22"],["1798","35"],["1799","4"],["1800","9"],["1801","33"],["1802","21"],["1803","2"],["1804","31"],["1806","13"],["1807","6"],["1809","7"],["1810","3"],["1811","2"],["1812","37"],["1813","6"],["1814","83"],["1815","127"],["1816","32"],["1817","278"],["1818","89"],["1819","33"],["1820","205"],["1821","103"],["1822","43"],["1823","42"],["1824","25"],["1825","36"],["1826","12"],["1827","95"],["1828","3"],["1829","33"],["1830","85"],["1831","25"],["1832","22"],["1833","22"],["1834","135"],["1835","25"],["1836","27"],["1837","38"],["1838","28"],["1839","36"],["1840","29"],["1841","41"],["1842","130"],["1843","47"],["1844","15"],["1845","226"],["1846","93"],["1847","338"],["1848","55"],["1849","63"],["1850","149"],["1851","109"],["1852","213"],["1853","48"],["1854","155"],["1855","61"],["1856","135"],["1857","43"],["1858","59"],["1859","39"],["1860","106"],["1861","155"],["1862","99"],["1863","156"],["1864","41"],["1865","80"],["1866","48"],["1867","51"],["1868","39"],["1869","75"],["1870","57"],["1871","36"],["1872","202"],["1873","47"],["1874","48"],["1875","56"],["1876","120"],["1877","89"],["1878","73"],["1879","60"],["1880","71"],["1881","141"],["1882","103"],["1883","131"],["1884","181"],["1885","189"],["1886","110"],["1887","155"],["1888","174"],["1889","118"],["1890","166"],["1891","491"],["1892","537"],["1893","424"],["1894","436"],["1895","457"],["1896","1790"],["1897","442"],["1898","468"],["1899","482"],["1900","545"],["1901","691"],["1902","2950"],["1903","428"],["1904","615"],["1905","805"],["1906","1848"],["1907","1480"],["1908","1259"],["1909","1326"],["1910","1843"],["1911","1831"],["1912","1375"],["1913","3879"],["1914","2638"],["1915","1290"],["1916","1963"],["1917","1562"],["1918","2275"],["1919","1683"],["1920","2585"],["1921","2476"],["1922","3071"],["1923","2316"],["1924","2564"],["1925","2608"],["1926","2710"],["1927","3449"],["1928","3026"],["1929","3330"],["1930","2926"],["1931","4306"],["1932","4029"],["1933","2318"],["1934","2677"],["1935","3956"],["1936","2828"],["1937","3629"],["1938","4747"],["1939","3023"],["1940","3187"],["1941","2628"],["1942","2407"],["1943","1648"],["1944","1966"],["1945","2240"],["1946","3412"],["1947","3278"],["1948","4094"],["1949","4275"],["1950","4822"],["1951","4079"],["1952","3949"],["1953","4103"],["1954","3991"],["1955","4542"],["1956","4630"],["1957","5199"],["1958","5452"],["1959","5065"],["1960","7901"],["1961","6397"],["1962","9110"],["1963","8342"],["1964","8171"],["1965","8474"],["1966","9015"],["1967","8870"],["1968","11031"],["1969","9805"],["1970","10585"],["1971","11343"],["1972","11859"],["1973","14510"],["1974","11602"],["1975","12733"],["1976","12554"],["1977","12922"],["1978","13215"],["1979","13039"],["1980","11993"],["1981","13114"],["1982","13451"],["1983","12705"],["1984","12815"],["1985","12965"],["1986","14927"],["1987","16082"],["1988","16235"],["1989","16086"],["1990","17819"],["1991","19443"],["1992","21495"],["1993","22058"],["1994","22091"],["1995","24225"],["1996","25913"],["1997","25780"],["1998","27566"],["1999","30328"],["2000","34114"],["2001","30582"],["2002","31364"],["2003","35595"],["2004","37576"],["2005","36751"],["2006","37664"],["2007","39884"],["2008","40231"]]
Anagrams for taboo »
aboot
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of taboo in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of taboo in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
Examples of taboo in a Sentence
There is always something taboo, something repressed, un-admitted, or just glimpsed quickly out of the corner of one’s eye because a direct look is too unsettling. Taboos lie within taboos, like the skin of an onion.
I have so many guys who come in with a gift certificate from their wife and tell us, ‘This is not really my thing,’ then the same guys walk out and say they loved it. I think it’s flipped 180 degrees where it’s not taboo; it’s something to be admired, and guys are proud they go.
This window of opportunity is the biggest gift I can even imagine, for me it's about making the conversation around child sexual abuse no longer a taboo subject.
The coffins show the skill and care with which the Egyptians prepared for the afterlife, to us, for whom death is a taboo subject, this seems like a morbid preoccupation. In fact, it was an obsession with life and an urgent wish to ensure its perfected continuation.
Jefferson County Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich:
This whole situation has made it impossible for him to do what he was elected to do: effectively govern, and as the father of four children under the age of 17, it doesn’t matter if it was a boy or a girl. When you are an elected official, it’s just so taboo, you can’t go there. You’re in a position of power, you can’t abuse that.
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References
Translations for taboo
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- محرمArabic
- tabúCatalan, Valencian
- tabu, tabuizovatCzech
- tabuisieren, tabuGerman
- ταμπούGreek
- tabuoEsperanto
- tabúSpanish
- tabuEstonian
- تابوPersian
- merkitä, tabu, välttää, kieltääFinnish
- tabuFijian
- taboue, tabouFrench
- tabuIndonesian
- tabùItalian
- 禁制, 排斥, 禁忌, タブー, 禁止Japanese
- 금기Korean
- tabuLithuanian
- tabuLatvian
- tapuMāori
- taboeDutch
- tabuPortuguese
- табуRussian
- tabuSerbo-Croatian
- tapuSamoan
- pamaliSundanese
- tambikoSwahili
- tabuTonga (Tonga Islands)
- 忌諱Chinese
Get even more translations for taboo »
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"taboo." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 9 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/taboo>.
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