forbidding

[ fer-bid-ing, fawr- ]
/ fərˈbɪd ɪŋ, fɔr- /

adjective

grim; unfriendly; hostile; sinister: his forbidding countenance.
dangerous; threatening: forbidding clouds; forbidding cliffs.

Origin of forbidding

First recorded in 1710–15; forbid + -ing2

OTHER WORDS FROM forbidding

for·bid·ding·ly, adverb for·bid·ding·ness, noun un·for·bid·ding, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH forbidding

forbidding foreboding

Definition for forbidding (2 of 2)

forbid
[ fer-bid, fawr- ]
/ fərˈbɪd, fɔr- /

verb (used with object), for·bade or for·bad or for·bid, for·bid·den or for·bid, for·bid·ding.

to command (a person) not to do something, have something, etc., or not to enter some place: to forbid him entry to the house.
to prohibit (something); make a rule or law against: to forbid the use of lipstick; to forbid smoking.
to hinder or prevent; make impossible.
to exclude; bar: Burlesque is forbidden in many cities.

Origin of forbid

before 1000; Middle English forbeden, Old English forbēodan. See for-, bid1

SYNONYMS FOR forbid

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM forbid

for·bid·der, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH forbid

forbade forbid forbidden forebode (see synonym study at the current entry)

Example sentences from the Web for forbidding

British Dictionary definitions for forbidding (1 of 2)

forbidding
/ (fəˈbɪdɪŋ) /

adjective

hostile or unfriendly
dangerous or ominous

Derived forms of forbidding

forbiddingly, adverb forbiddingness, noun

British Dictionary definitions for forbidding (2 of 2)

forbid
/ (fəˈbɪd) /

verb -bids, -bidding, -bade, -bad, -bidden or -bid (tr)

to prohibit (a person) in a forceful or authoritative manner (from doing something or having something)
to make impossible; hinder
to shut out or exclude
God forbid! may it not happen

Derived forms of forbid

forbiddance, noun forbidder, noun

Word Origin for forbid

Old English forbēodan; related to Old High German farbiotan, Gothic faurbiudan; see for-, bid

Idioms and Phrases with forbidding

forbid

see god forbid.