forbid

A2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /fɚˈbɪd/ UK /fəˈbɪd/ See IPA manual

Freq #4924

Meanings

1

verb
To order someone not to do something.

Her parents forbid her to stay out late.
2

verb
To officially not allow something.

Smoking is forbidden in the restaurant.
3

verb
To make something impossible or prevent it.

The high price forbids most people from buying it.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to order someone not to do... veto

2 verb · to officially not allow... prohibit

3 verb · to make something... prevent preclude

More ban disallow

Word family

Forms forbadforbadeforbids

Derived forms forbiddableforbiddalforbiddanceforbidderforbiddingreforbidunforbid

Appears in

Idioms (1)

See all

forbidden fruit
something made more tempting by being off-limits or socially taboo

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.

*bʰewdʰ- Proto-Indo-European forbeden Middle English forbēodan Old English *furibeudaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# forbid

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /fɚˈbɪd/
**IPA (UK):** /fəˈbɪd/
**Frequency rank:** 4924

## Meanings
1. To order someone not to do something.
2. To officially not allow something.
3. To make something impossible or prevent it.

## Examples
- Her parents forbid her to stay out late.
- Smoking is forbidden in the restaurant.
- The high price forbids most people from buying it.

## Synonyms
- ban
- disallow
- prohibit
- veto

## Derived Forms
- forbiddable
- forbiddal
- forbiddance
- forbidder
- forbidding
- reforbid
- unforbid

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰewdʰ-
- Root: forbeden
- Root: forbēodan
- Root: *furibeudaną

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Forbid comes 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. In current use, the main senses are “To order someone not to do something” and “To officially not allow something”.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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