for·bid (fər-bĭd', fôr-)
tr.v., -bade (-băd', -bād'), or -bad (-băd'), -bid·den (-bĭd'n), or -bid, -bid·ding, -bids.

1. To command (someone) not to do something: I forbid you to go.
2. To command against the doing or use of (something); prohibit: forbid smoking on trains.
3. To have the effect of preventing; preclude: Discretion forbids a reply.

[Middle English forbidden, forbeden, from Old English forbēodan.]

forbiddance for·bid'dance n.
forbidder for·bid'der n.

SYNONYMS   forbid, ban, enjoin, interdict, prohibit, proscribe. These verbs mean to refuse to allow: laws that forbid speeding; banned smoking; was enjoined from broadcasting; interdict trafficking in drugs; rules that prohibit loitering; proscribed the importation of certain fruits.
ANTONYM  permit

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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