Synonyms for forbid
fərˈbɪd, fɔr-for·bid

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:2.7 / 3 votes

1. forbidverb

   Synonyms:
   ban, prohibit, disallow

2. forbidverb

   To disallow

   Synonyms:
   ban, disallow, prohibit

3. forbidverb

   To proscribe

   Synonyms:
   prohibit, ban, disallow

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. forbid

   To prohibit is to give some formal command against, and especially to make some authoritative legal enactment against. Debar is said of persons, disallow of acts; one is debarred from anything when shut off, as by some irresistible authority or necessity; one is prohibited from an act in express terms; he may be debarred by silent necessity. An act is disallowed by the authority that might have allowed it; the word is especially applied to acts which are done before they are pronounced upon; thus, a government may disallow the act of its commander in the field or its admiral on the high seas. Inhibit and interdict are chiefly known by their ecclesiastical use. As between forbid and prohibit, forbid is less formal and more personal, prohibit more official and judicial, with the implication of readiness to use such force as may be needed to give effect to the enactment; a parent forbids a child to take part in some game or to associate with certain companions; the slave-trade is now prohibited by the leading nations of the world. Many things are prohibited by law which can not be wholly prevented, as gambling and prostitution; on the other hand, things may be prevented which are not prohibited, as the services of religion, the payment of debts, or military conquest. That which is precluded need not be prohibited. Compare ABOLISH; HINDER; PREVENT.

   Synonyms:
   debar, disallow, hinder, inhibit, interdict, preclude, prevent, prohibit

   Antonyms:
   allow, authorize, command, consent to, direct, empower, enjoin, give consent, give leave, give permission, let, license, order, permit, put up with, require, sanction, suffer, tolerate, warrant

   Preposition:
   An act is prohibited by law; a person is prohibited by law from doing a certain act. Prohibit was formerly construed, as forbid still is, with the infinitive, but the construction with from and the verbal noun has now entirely superseded the older usage.

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. forbid, prohibit, interdict, proscribe, veto, disallow, nixverb

   command against

   "I forbid you to call me late at night"; "Mother vetoed the trip to the chocolate store"; "Dad nixed our plans"

   Synonyms:
   blackball, interdict, forestall, disallow, prohibit, preclude, nix, negative, prevent, proscribe, veto, foreclose

   Antonyms:
   permit, countenance, allow, let

2. prevent, forestall, foreclose, preclude, forbidverb

   keep from happening or arising; make impossible

   "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"; "Your role in the projects precludes your involvement in the competitive project"

   Synonyms:
   proscribe, rule out, counter, interdict, keep, veto, preclude, forestall, prevent, prohibit, foreclose, nix, anticipate, foresee, close out, disallow

   Antonyms:
   countenance, let, permit, allow

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. forbidverb

   Synonyms:
   prohibit, inhibit, interdict

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. forbidverb

   Synonyms:
   prohibit, interdict, inhibit, restrain, taboo, preclude, proscribe

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "forbid":

   prohibit, ban, prohibits

Suggested Resources

1. Forbid

   Forbid vs. Prohibit -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Forbid and Prohibit.

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How to use forbid in a sentence?

1. Sun Tzu:

   If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight, even at the ruler's bidding.

2. Bill De Blasio:

   We have the capacity to keep this contained in god forbid it spread, spread, spread.

3. Megan Ranney:

   It's a way to allow people to get Moderna COVID-19 vaccine or the additional booster. But it also provides them with the flexibility so that should BA.2 be worse than we're expecting, they can then quickly roll it out. or God forbid, should there be another variant in the next couple of months that requires another booster they can quickly roll it out. So I'm reading it that way.

4. John Rhys-Davies:

   They are afraid of being judged as being partisan. Heaven forbid that we should criticize people who, after all, share a different value system. 'But it's all relevant. It's all equally relative. We're all the same. And God and the devil, they're the same, aren't they, really? Right and wrong? It's really just two faces of the same coin,' we have lost our moral compass completely, and, unless we find it, we're going to lose our civilization. I think we're going to lose Western European Christian civilization, anyway.

5. Marc Friedland:

   Plan A and Plan B, just in case, God forbid, anything happens.