tabu
[ tuh-boo, ta- ]
/ təˈbu, tæ- /
adjective, noun, verb (used with object)
Words nearby tabu
taborin,
taborite,
tabouleh,
tabret,
tabriz,
tabu,
tabula rasa,
tabular,
tabularize,
tabulate,
tabulator
Definition for tabu (2 of 2)
taboo
or ta·bu
[ tuh-boo, ta- ]
/ təˈbu, tæ- /
adjective
noun, plural ta·boos.
verb (used with object), ta·booed, ta·boo·ing.
to put under a taboo; prohibit or forbid.
to ostracize (a person, group, etc.): While he is tabooed, no one may speak to him.
Origin of taboo
1770–80; < Tongan
tapu or Fijian
tabu ‘forbidden, prohibited’
synonym study for taboo
7.
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.
Example sentences from the Web for tabu
British Dictionary definitions for tabu
taboo
tabu
/ (təˈbuː) /
adjective
forbidden or disapproved of; placed under a social prohibition or ban
taboo words
(in Polynesia and other islands of the South Pacific) marked off as simultaneously sacred and forbidden
noun plural -boos or -bus
any prohibition resulting from social or other conventions
ritual restriction or prohibition, esp of something that is considered holy or unclean
verb
(tr)
to place under a taboo
Word Origin for taboo
C18: from Tongan
tapu
Medical definitions for tabu
taboo
n. pl. ta•boos
A ban or an inhibition resulting from social custom or emotional aversion.
adj.
Excluded or forbidden from use, approach, or mention.
Cultural definitions for tabu
taboo
A descriptive term for words, objects, actions, or people that are forbidden by a group or culture. The expression comes from the religion of islanders of the South Pacific.