forbid

Verb

Verb Forms: forbade, forbad, forbidden, forbidding, forbids

To command someone not to do something; to prohibit.
command against
- "I forbid you to call me late at night"
keep from happening or arising; make impossible
- "My sense of tact forbids an honest answer"
To disallow; to proscribe.
To deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command.
To oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command.
To accurse; to blast.
To defy; to challenge.

Examples

An impassable river forbids the approach of the army.
Smoking in the restaurant is forbidden.
The rules of Words With Friends forbid playing offensive or proper nouns.
What part of "no" do you forbid to understand?

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English forbeden, from Old English forbēodan (“to forbid, prohibit, restrain, refuse, repeal, annul”), from Proto-Germanic *furibeudaną, from *furi + *beudaną. Equivalent to for- (“from, away”) + bid (“to offer, proclaim”). Cognate with Dutch verbieden (“to forbid”), German verbieten (“to forbid”), Danish forbyde (“to forbid”),
Norwegian Bokmål forby (“to forbid”), Swedish förbjuda (“to forbid”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌱𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (faurbiudan). Related to forbode.

Synonyms

disallow, foreclose, forestall, interdict, nix, preclude, prevent, prohibit, proscribe, veto, ban

Antonyms

allow, permit

Scrabble Score: 12

forbid: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
forbid: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
forbid: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 13

forbid: valid Words With Friends Word