— forbidder , n.
/feuhr bid", fawr-/ , v.t., forbade or forbad or forbid, forbidden or forbid, forbidding .
1. to command (a person) not to do something, have something, etc., or not to enter some place: to forbid him entry to the house.
2. to prohibit (something); make a rule or law against: to forbid the use of lipstick; to forbid smoking.
3. to hinder or prevent; make impossible.
4. to exclude; bar: Burlesque is forbidden in many cities.
[ bef. 1000; ME forbeden, OE forbeodan. See FOR-, BID 1 ]
Syn. 1, 2. interdict. FORBID, INHIBIT, PROHIBIT, TABOO indicate a command to refrain from some action. FORBID, a common and familiar word, usually denotes a direct or personal command of this sort: I forbid you to go. It was useless to forbid children to play in the park. INHIBIT implies a checking or hindering of impulses by the mind, sometimes involuntarily: to inhibit one's desires; His responsiveness was inhibited by extreme shyness.
PROHIBIT, a formal or legal word, means usually to forbid by official edict, enactment, or the like: to prohibit the sale of liquor. TABOO, primarily associated with primitive superstition, means to prohibit by common disapproval and by social custom: to taboo a subject in polite conversation. 3. preclude, stop, obviate, deter.