ENGLISH
REFERENCE

forbidding

adj.
C1 Advanced US //fɝˈbɪdɪŋ// UK //fəbˈɪdɪŋ// for·bid·ding

adj. looking unfriendly, dangerous, or difficult to enter. You use this to describe places or people that make you feel a bit nervous or unwelcome.

adj. having a frightening or threatening appearance; appearing hostile or dangerous. Often used to describe landscapes, buildings, or facial expressions that discourage approach.


SIMPLE

The high stone walls looked very forbidding.

CONTEXTUAL

The dark clouds and jagged rocks gave the island a forbidding appearance as the ship approached.

COMPLEX

Despite the forbidding exterior of the old mansion, the interior had been renovated into a warm and welcoming family home.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

By surface analysis, forbid + -ing.

Usage

Often used as an attributive adjective before a noun like 'landscape', 'expression', or 'walls'.

Pitfall

The forbidding of smoking is strict.The prohibition of smoking is strict.While 'forbid' is a verb, 'forbidding' is almost exclusively used as an adjective; the noun form for a ban is 'prohibition' or 'forbidding' is used only as a gerund.

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