Adjacent Words

Prohibit definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PROHIB'IT, v.t. [L. prohibeo; pro and habeo, to hold.]
1. To forbid; to interdict by authority; applicable to persons or things, but implying authority or right. God prohibited Adam to eat of the fruit of a certain tree. The moral law prohibits what is wrong and commands what is right. We prohibit a person to do a thing, and we prohibit the thing to be done.
2. To hinder; to debar; to prevent; to preclude.
Gates of burning adamant,
Barr'd over us, prohibit all egress.

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]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Latin prohibitus, past participle of prohib?re to keep off, from pro- forward + hab?re to hold — more at pro-, give Date: 15th century 1. to forbid by authority ; enjoin 2. a. to prevent from doing something b. preclude Synonyms: see forbid

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (prohibited, prohibiting) (often foll. by from + verbal noun) 1 formally forbid, esp. by authority. 2 prevent; make impossible (his accident prohibits him from playing football). Phrases and idioms: prohibited degrees degrees of blood relationship within which marriage is forbidden. Derivatives: prohibiter n. prohibitor n. Etymology: ME f. L prohibere (as PRO-(1), habere hold)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prohibit Pro*hib"it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prohibited; p. pr. & vb. n. Prohibiting.] [L. prohibitus, p. p. of prohibere to prohibit; pro before, forth + habere to have, hold. See Habit.] 1. To forbid by authority; to interdict; as, God prohibited Adam from eating of the fruit of a certain tree; we prohibit a person from doing a thing, and also the doing of the thing; as, the law prohibits men from stealing, or it prohibits stealing. Note: Prohibit was formerly followed by to with the infinitive, but is now commonly followed by from with the verbal noun in -ing. 2. To hinder; to debar; to prevent; to preclude. Gates of burning adamant, Barred over us, prohibit all egress. --Milton. Syn: To forbid; interdict; debar; prevent; hinder. Usage: Prohibit, Forbid. To forbid is Anglo-Saxon, and is more familiar; to prohibit is Latin, and is more formal or official. A parent forbids his child to be out late at night; he prohibits his intercourse with the profane and vicious.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(prohibits, prohibiting, prohibited) If a law or someone in authority prohibits something, they forbid it or make it illegal. (FORMAL) ...a law that prohibits tobacco advertising in newspapers and magazines... Fishing is prohibited... Federal law prohibits foreign airlines from owning more than 25% of any U.S. airline. ? permit VERB: V n, V n, V n from -ing • prohibition ...the prohibition of women on air combat missions.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Hinder, prevent, debar, preclude. 2. Forbid, inhibit, disallow, interdict.

Moby Thesaurus

anticipate, arrest, avert, ban, bar, bar out, block, blockade, bridle, check, close out, constrain, contain, control, cool, cool off, count out, curb, curtail, cut off, debar, decelerate, deflect, deny, deter, disallow, discourage, disenable, dishearten, disqualify, dompt, embargo, enjoin, estop, exclude, exclude from, fend, fend off, foil, forbid, foreclose, forestall, freeze out, frustrate, govern, guard, hamper, help, hinder, hold, hold at bay, hold back, hold fast, hold in, hold in check, hold in leash, hold up, ignore, impede, inhibit, interdict, keep, keep back, keep from, keep in, keep in check, keep off, keep out, keep under control, lay under restraint, leave out, lock out, make impossible, obstruct, obviate, omit, ostracize, outlaw, pass over, preclude, prevent, proscribe, pull, pull in, refuse, rein, rein in, reject, relegate, repel, repress, repudiate, restrain, retard, retrench, rule out, save, say no to, send to Coventry, set back, shut out, slow down, snub, stave off, stop, straiten, suppress, taboo, thwart, turn aside, ward off, withhold