Adjacent Words

Forbid definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

FORBID', v.t. pret. forbad; pp. forbid, forbidden. Literally, to bid or command against. Hence,
1. To prohibit; to interdict; to command to forbear or not to do. The laws of God forbid us to swear. Good manners also forbid us to use profane language. All servile labor and idle amusements on the sabbath are forbidden.
2. To command not to enter; as, I have forbid him my house or presence. This phrase seems to be elliptical; to forbid from entering or approaching.
3. To oppose; to hinder; to obstruct. An impassable river forbids the approach of the army.
A blaze of glory that forbids the sight.
4. To accurse; to blast. Obs.
FORBID', v.i. To utter a prohibition; but in the intransitive form, there is always an ellipsis. I would go, but my state of health forbids, that is, forbids me to go, or my going.
FORBID','DEN, pp.
1. Prohibited; as the forbidden fruit.
2. Hindered; obstructed.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: command against; "I forbid you to call me late at night"; "Mother vetoed the trip to the chocolate store"; "Dad nixed our plans" [syn: forbid, prohibit, interdict, proscribe, veto, disallow, nix] [ant: allow, countenance, let, permit]
2: 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" [syn: prevent, forestall, foreclose, preclude, forbid]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb (forbade; also forbad; forbidden; -bidding) Etymology: Middle English forbidden, from Old English forb?odan, from for- + b?odan to bid — more at bid Date: before 12th century 1. to proscribe from or as if from the position of one in authority ; command against <the law forbids stores to sell liquor to minors> <her mother forbids her to go> 2. to hinder or prevent as if by an effectual command <space forbids further treatment here> • forbidder noun Synonyms: forbid, prohibit, interdict, inhibit mean to debar one from doing something or to order that something not be done. forbid implies that the order is from one in authority and that obedience is expected <smoking is forbidden in the building>. prohibit suggests the issuing of laws, statutes, or regulations <prohibited the sale of liquor>. interdict implies prohibition by civil or ecclesiastical authority usually for a given time or a declared purpose <practices interdicted by the church>. inhibit implies restraints or restrictions that amount to prohibitions, not only by authority but also by the exigencies of the time or situation <conditions inhibiting the growth of free trade>. II. adjective Date: 1606 archaic accursed <he shall live a man forbid — Shakespeare>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (forbidding; past forbade or forbad; past part. forbidden) 1 (foll. by to + infin.) order not (I forbid you to go). 2 refuse to allow (a thing, or a person to have a thing) (I forbid it; was forbidden any wine). 3 refuse a person entry to (the gardens are forbidden to children). Phrases and idioms: forbidden degrees see DEGREE. forbidden fruit something desired or enjoyed all the more because not allowed. God forbid! may it not happen! Etymology: OE forbeodan (as FOR-, BID)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Forbid For*bid", v. t. [imp. Forbade; p. p. Forbidden(Forbid, [Obs.]); p. pr. & vb. n. Forbidding.] [OE. forbeden, AS. forbe['o]dan; pref. for- + be['o]dan to bid; akin to D. verbieden, G. verbieten, Icel., fyrirbj[=o][eth]a, forbo[eth]a, Sw. f["o]rbjuda, Dan. forbyde. See Bid, v. t.] 1. To command against, or contrary to; to prohibit; to interdict. More than I have said . . . The leisure and enforcement of the time Forbids to dwell upon. --Shak. 2. To deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command; to command not to enter. Have I not forbid her my house? --Shak. 3. To oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command; as, an impassable river forbids the approach of the army. A blaze of glory that forbids the sight. --Dryden. 4. To accurse; to blast. [Obs.] He shall live a man forbid. --Shak. 5. To defy; to challenge. [Obs.] --L. Andrews. Syn: To prohibit; interdict; hinder; preclude; withold; restrain; prevent. See Prohibit.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Forbid For*bid", v. t. [imp. Forbade; p. p. Forbidden(Forbid, [Obs.]); p. pr. & vb. n. Forbidding.] [OE. forbeden, AS. forbe['o]dan; pref. for- + be['o]dan to bid; akin to D. verbieden, G. verbieten, Icel., fyrirbj[=o][eth]a, forbo[eth]a, Sw. f["o]rbjuda, Dan. forbyde. See Bid, v. t.] 1. To command against, or contrary to; to prohibit; to interdict. More than I have said . . . The leisure and enforcement of the time Forbids to dwell upon. --Shak. 2. To deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command; to command not to enter. Have I not forbid her my house? --Shak. 3. To oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command; as, an impassable river forbids the approach of the army. A blaze of glory that forbids the sight. --Dryden. 4. To accurse; to blast. [Obs.] He shall live a man forbid. --Shak. 5. To defy; to challenge. [Obs.] --L. Andrews. Syn: To prohibit; interdict; hinder; preclude; withold; restrain; prevent. See Prohibit.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Forbid For*bid", v. i. To utter a prohibition; to prevent; to hinder. ``I did not or forbid.'' --Milton.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(forbids, forbidding, forbade, forbidden) 1. If you forbid someone to do something, or if you forbid an activity, you order that it must not be done. They'll forbid you to marry... Brazil's constitution forbids the military use of nuclear energy. = prohibit VERB: V n to-inf, V n 2. If something forbids a particular course of action or state of affairs, it makes it impossible for the course of action or state of affairs to happen. His own pride forbids him to ask Arthur's help... Custom forbids any modernisation. VERB: V n to-inf, V n 3. God forbid: see god heaven forbid: see heaven

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

for-bid' (kala; koluo):

Occurs very seldom in the Old Testament except as the rendering of chalilah (see below); it is once the translation of kala', "to restrain" (Nu 11:28, "Joshua .... said My lord Moses forbid them"); twice of tsawah, "to command" (De 2:37, "and wheresoever Yahweh our God forbade us"; De 4:23, "Yahweh thy God hath forbidden thee," literally, "commanded"); once of lo', "not," the Revised Version (British and American) "commanded not to be done" (Le 5:17). In the phrases, "Yahweh forbid" (1Sa 24:6; 26:11; 1Ki 21:13), "God forbid" (Ge 44:7; Jos 22:29; 24:16; 1Sa 12:23; Job 27:5, etc.), "My God forbid it me" (1Ch 11:19), the word is chalilah, denoting profanation, or abhorrence (rendered, Ge 18:25 the King James Version, "that be far from thee"); the English Revised Version leaves the expressions unchanged; the American Standard Revised Version substitutes "far be it from me," "thee," etc., except in 1Sa 14:45; 20:2, where it is, "Far from it."

In the New Testament koluo, "to cut short," "restrain" is the word commonly translated "forbid" (Mt 19:14, "forbid them not," etc.); in Lu 6:29, the Revised Version (British and American) has "withhold not"; diakoluo, with a similar meaning, occurs in Mt 3:14, "John forbade him," the Revised Version (British and American) "would have hindered him"; akolutos, "uncut off" (Ac 28:31), is translated "none forbidding him." The phrase "God forbid" (me genoito, "let it not be," Lu 20:16; Ro 3:4, etc.) is retained by the Revised Version (British and American), with margin "Be it not so," except in Ga 6:14, where the text has "Far be it from me"; me genoito is one of the renderings of chalilah in Septuagint. "God forbid" also appears in Apocrypha ( /APC 1Macc 2:21, the Revised Version (British and American) "Heaven forbid," margin, Greek "may he be propitious," /APC 1Macc 9:10, the Revised Version (British and American) "Let it not be").

W. L. Walker

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Prohibit, inhibit, interdict.

Moby Thesaurus

anticipate, avert, ban, bar, block, check, curb, debar, deflect, deny, deter, disallow, discourage, dishearten, embargo, enjoin, estop, exclude, exclude from, fend, fend off, foreclose, forestall, halt, help, hinder, impede, inhibit, interdict, keep from, keep off, obstruct, obviate, outlaw, preclude, prevent, prohibit, proscribe, refuse, reject, repel, repress, restrain, rule out, save, say no to, shut out, stave off, stop, suppress, taboo, turn aside, veto, ward off