taboo

CEFRB2

/təˈbuː/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A strong social rule against discussing or doing something.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    Excluded or forbidden from use, approach or mention.

Examples

  • The excessive use of salt should be taboo.

  • The topic is taboo here.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈʈæ.bu/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Something which may not be used, approached or mentioned because it is sacred.

  2. An inhibition or ban that results from social custom or emotional aversion.

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. Culturally forbidden.

More examples

In context

  • Incest is a taboo subject in most soap operas.

  • Sweets and fats are strictly taboo in my home.

  • It is true indeed that a taboo - in order to be a proper taboo - must not rest in the general mind on argument or reason.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

In the tribe, it was a blank to touch the sacred tree.

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

Nearby

Origin

noun

Borrowed from Tongan tapu (“prohibited, sacred”), from Proto-Polynesian *tapu, from Proto-Oceanic *tabu, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *tambu. Doublet of kapu. First attested in c. 1777. The p in the Tongan source was misheard as b.