forbid

English

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /fɚˈbɪd/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /fəˈbɪd/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪd

Verb

forbid (third-person singular simple present forbids, present participle forbidding, simple past forbade or forbad or forbid, past participle forbidden)

1. (transitive) To disallow; to proscribe.

   Smoking in the restaurant is forbidden.

   • 1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC:

     […] the Mole recollected that animal-etiquette forbade any sort of comment on the sudden disappearance of one's friends at any moment, for any reason or no reason whatever.

2. (ditransitive) To deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command.
   • c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Have I not forbid her my house?

3. (transitive) To oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command.

   An impassable river forbids the approach of the army.

   • 1687, [John Dryden], “(please specify the page number)”, in The Hind and the Panther. A Poem, in Three Parts, 2nd edition, London: Jacob Tonson , →OCLC:

     a blaze of glory that forbids the sight

4. (transitive, obsolete) To accurse; to blast.
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     He shall live a man forbid.

5. (transitive, obsolete) To defy; to challenge.

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

   • 1598, Lancelot Andrewes, sermon preached in the Parish Church of St. Giles without Cripplegate, London:

     So there is a resemblance between the partie that here gives licence to come to the tree of life, and the other that forbid to come to it. The one threatned with a sword; the other promiseth to the persons that keep the condition here expressed

Usage notes

• Especially when talking about a person, the expression is not allowed to is much more common than the very formal is forbidden to/is forbidden from.
• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive or the gerund (-ing) when the person is mentioned from whom something is forbidden, and it takes the gerund (-ing) when such a person is not mentioned. See Appendix:English catenative verbs. Examples:
  • The management forbids employees from smoking/to smoke in the office. (Active; those subject to prohibition are identified)
  • Employees are forbidden from smoking/to smoke in the office. (Passive; those subject to prohibition are identified)
  • The management forbids smoking in the office. (Active; those subject to prohibition are not identified)
  • Smoking in the office is forbidden. (Passive; those subject to prohibition are not identified)

Synonyms

• prohibit
• disallow
• ban
• veto
• See also Thesaurus:prohibit

Derived terms

Translations

References

• “forbid”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “forbid”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.