English

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To disallow; to proscribe.

   Smoking in the restaurant is forbidden.

   • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

     […] 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. (transitive) To deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command.
   • Shakespeare

     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.

   • Dryden

     a blaze of glory that forbids the sight

4. (transitive, obsolete) To accurse; to blast.
   • Shakespeare

     He shall live a man forbid.

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

   (Can we find and add a quotation of L. Andrews to this entry?)

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive when the forbidden person is mentioned, and the gerund (-ing) otherwise. See Appendix:English catenative verbs. Examples:
  • The management forbids employees to smoke in the office. (Active; those subject to prohibition are identified)
  • Employees are forbidden 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 Wikisaurus:prohibit

Translations

References

• forbid in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• forbid in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913