forbid
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to officially say that something is not allowed.
to prohibit an action or behaviour by authority or law. Transitive; often followed by a gerund or a 'to' infinitive.
Simple“The school rules strictly forbid students from using their phones during lessons.”
In context“The new environmental regulations forbid the dumping of industrial waste into the local river system, carrying heavy fines for any violations.”
PitfallThe law forbids to smoke here. The law forbids smoking here.When 'forbid' is used without a person as an object, it is usually followed by a gerund (-ing form) rather than an infinitive.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
to tell someone they are not allowed to do something or go somewhere.
to command a person or group not to do something or to stay away from a location. Often takes a direct object followed by 'to' and an infinitive.
Simple“Her parents forbid her to go out late on school nights.”
In context“The judge issued an injunction that would forbid the defendant to contact any witnesses involved in the ongoing investigation.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
to prevent something from happening or make it impossible.
to hinder or prevent an occurrence as if by a command; to make something impossible through circumstances.
Simple“The lack of time forbids a longer discussion on this topic today.”
In context“The sheer scale of the project forbids a quick resolution, requiring instead a multi-year commitment from all stakeholders involved.”
UsageOften used with an abstract subject like 'time', 'circumstances', or 'nature'.
Antonyms
“The law forbids "traditional Muslim" head coverings, such as hijabs or burkas, in public and private schools across the country.”
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.