ˌinəˈbishən, ˌinhəˈ-, ˌin(ˌ)(h)iˈ- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English inhibicioun, from Middle French inhibition, from Latin inhibition-, inhibitio, from inhibitus + -ion-, -io -ion
: the act or an instance of inhibiting or the state of being inhibited: as
a. : the act or an instance of formally forbidding or barring something from being done : prohibition
plain inhibitions to the exercise of that power in a particular way — John Marshall
also : something that formally forbids or debars : impediment
the constitutional inhibition of his alien birth — F.L.Paxson
b.
(1) : a writ from a higher court (as an ecclesiastical court) staying an inferior judge from further proceedings
(2) Eng eccl law : a command of an ecclesiastical authority (as a bishop) to a minister not to perform ministerial duties
(3) Scots law : a personal order prohibiting a party from contracting debts to the prejudice of the rights of others in his heritable property or realty ; also : an order procured by a husband prohibiting the giving of credit to his wife
c.
(1) : a stopping or checking of a bodily action : a restraining of the function of an organ or an agent (as a digestive fluid or enzyme)
inhibition of the heartbeat by stimulation of the vagus nerve
inhibition of plantar reflexes
(2) : interference with or retardation or prevention of a chemical process or activity
inhibition of a catalyst
inhibition of rust
d.
(1) : a desirable restraint or check upon the free or spontaneous instincts or impulses of an individual effected through the operation of the human will guided or directed by the social and cultural forces of the environment
the self-control so developed is called inhibition — C.W.Russell
creating inhibitions, socializing the child, obviously should be one of the goals of a training school — Erwin Schepses
(2) : a neurotic restraint upon a normal or beneficial impulse or activity caused by psychological inner conflicts or by sociocultural forces of the environment
other outspoken neurotic manifestations are general inhibitions such as inability to think, to concentrate — Muriel Ivimey
inhibitions, phobias, compulsions, and other neurotic patterns — Psychological Abstracts
(3) : repression of or restraint upon an urge, impulse, or activity of any kind
locked in Puritan inhibitions — H.S.Canby
obstacles and inhibitions to rural reading — C.M.Wieting
throwing all her moral teachings and inhibitions overboard — Ruth Park
laughed without inhibition — Jean Stafford