- 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
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
for•bid /fɚˈbɪd, fɔr-/USA pronunciation
v., -bade or -bad or -bid, -bid•den or -bid, -bid•ding.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to command (a person) not to do something: [~ + object + object]I forbid you entry to this house.[~ + object + to + verb]forbade me to see him again.
- to prohibit (something):[~ + object]to forbid smoking in public places.
- to prevent:[~ + object]Loyalty forbids any further comment.
for•bid
(fər bid′, fôr-),USA pronunciation v.t., -bade or -bad or -bid, -bid•den or -bid, -bid•ding.
for•bid′der, n.
- to command (a person) not to do something, have something, etc., or not to enter some place:to forbid him entry to the house.
- to prohibit (something);
make a rule or law against:to forbid the use of lipstick; to forbid smoking. - to hinder or prevent;
make impossible. - to exclude;
bar:Burlesque is forbidden in many cities.
- Middle English forbeden, Old English forbēodan. See for-, bid1 bef. 1000
- 1. 2. interdict. Forbid, inhibit, prohibit, taboo indicate a command to refrain from some action. Forbid, a common and familiar word, usually denotes a direct or personal command of this sort:I forbid you to go. It was useless to forbid children to play in the park.Inhibit implies a checking or hindering of impulses by the mind, sometimes involuntarily:to inhibit one's desires; His responsiveness was inhibited by extreme shyness.Prohibit, a formal or legal word, means usually to forbid by official edict, enactment, or the like:to prohibit the sale of liquor.Taboo, primarily associated with primitive superstition, means to prohibit by common disapproval and by social custom:to taboo a subject in polite conversation. 3. preclude, stop, obviate, deter.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
forbid /fəˈbɪd/ vb ( -bids, -bidding, -bade, -bad, -bidden, -bid) (transitive)
for•bade /fɔrˈbæd/USA pronunciation v.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a pt. of forbid.
for•bade
(fər bad′, -bād′, fôr-),USA pronunciation v.
- a pt. of forbid.
'forbid' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
ban
- banns
- bar
- for-
- forbade
- freeze
- inhibit
- interdict
- prohibit
- veto
- allow
- banyan
- conscience clause
- cross-ownership
- delicate
- demilitarize
- don't
- for
- forbiddance
- forbidden
- Forbidden City
- forbidden fruit
- forbidding
- forfend
- ground
- outlaw
- period
- permissive
- preforbidden
- prohibitive
- restraining order
- taboo
- unforbidden
- unforbidding
- Valediction Forbidding Mourning, A
- verboten
- self-forbidden
- shield