inhibition

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˌɪnɪˈbɪʃən/ UK /ˌɪnɪˈbɪʃən/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a feeling or process that restrains or holds back an action or impulse

After a few drinks his inhibitions vanished and he began to sing.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a feeling or process that... restraint repression suppression reticence constraint hindrance

Opposites

uninhibitednessabandon freedom

Word family

Related forms inhibit inhibitorinhibitoryexhibit prohibit

Etymology

From Latin inhibitio(n-), from inhibere ('to hold in, restrain'), from in- ('in') + habere ('to have, hold').

in- Latin habere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction Word Formation & Derivatives

# inhibition

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˌɪnɪˈbɪʃən
**IPA (UK):** ˌɪnɪˈbɪʃən

## Meanings
1. a feeling or process that restrains or holds back an action or impulse

## Examples
- After a few drinks his inhibitions vanished and he began to sing.

## Synonyms
- restraint
- repression
- suppression
- reticence
- constraint
- hindrance

## Antonyms
- uninhibitedness
- abandon
- freedom

## Related Forms
- inhibit
- inhibitor
- inhibitory
- exhibit
- prohibit

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: in-
- Root: habere

## Etymology
From Latin inhibitio(n-), from inhibere ('to hold in, restrain'), from in- ('in') + habere ('to have, hold').

## AI Etymology
inhibition comes from Latin inhibitio(n-), from inhibere ('to hold in, restrain'), from in- ('in') + habere ('to have, hold'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the noun sense is "a feeling or process that restrains or holds back an action or impulse", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as inhibit, inhibitor, inhibitory, and exhibit. Its semantic neighborhood includes restraint, repression, suppression, and reticence, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin in- and Latin habere.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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