forbid

CEFRB2

/fəˈbɪd/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To order someone not to do something.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command.

Examples

  • God forbid that anything should happen to Tom.

  • I forbid smoking in my room.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
4

Also pronounced

  • [fɚˈbɪd] ~ [fɹ̩ˈbɪd]

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command.

  2. To disallow; to proscribe.

  3. To accurse; to blast.

More examples

In context

  • I forbid you to smoke.

  • An impassable river forbids the approach of the army.

  • What part of "no" do you forbid to understand?

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Our parents strictly blank us to watch television until we finish our homework.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

From Middle English forbeden, from Old English forbēodan (“to forbid, prohibit, restrain, refuse, repeal, annul”), from Proto-Germanic *furibeudaną, from *furi + *beudaną. Equivalent to for- (“from, away”) + bid (“to offer, proclaim”). Cognate with Dutch verbieden (“to forbid”), German verbieten (“to forbid”), Danish forbyde (“to forbid”), Norwegian Bokmål forby (“to forbid”), Swedish förbjuda (“to forbid”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌱𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (faurbiudan). Related to forbode.