forbade

verb

variants also forbad
past tense of forbid
as in prohibited
to order not to do or use or to be done or used smoking is forbidden throughout the building we forbid you to see him

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of forbade Chinese tech giant ByteDance’s founder reportedly forbade AI researchers from distilling rival models, as scrutiny of the practice causes friction between Washington and Beijing. — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 6 Aug. 2026 Throughout the 1900s, in North America, many major sports leagues forbade private equity deals, leaving ownership to wealthy individuals and families. — Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 31 July 2026 In addition to mandating short hair, Rome also forbade clothing made with animal skins, even for enslaved people—another fashion associated with Germanic enemies. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 23 July 2026 Variety reported that the wedding's digital invitations came with non-disclosure agreements that forbade invitees from spilling the beans about the ceremony. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026 Almost 50 years ago, the Islamic Republic first took the comfort of religion away and then forbade music and, in the process, isolated me even further. — Lily Moayeri, SPIN, 29 June 2026 At its best, the film rebuffs standard-issue 1950s heteronormativity, validating queerness at a moment when the Motion Picture Production Code forbade explicit reference to it. — Liam Hess, Vogue, 28 June 2026 That would have been unlikely just a few years ago — when laws in this Muslim-majority nation forbade women freedom of travel without permission from husbands or fathers. — Charles Maynes, NPR, 27 June 2026 The case forbade the use of irrigation water to drown gophers. — Emily Cureton Cook, ProPublica, 26 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forbade
  1. prohibited
  2. banned
  3. outlawed
Verb
  • As a preventive measure, Assemblymember Chris Rogers, D-Ukiah, introduced AB 928, which would have prohibited a person from keeping more than 25 caged or tethered game fowl roosters.
    — Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • His two sisters were students before the Taliban prohibited girls from continuing beyond primary school.
    — Fatima Faizi, NPR, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of prohibited
Verb
  • Following the January 2025 midair collision at Reagan National Airport, helicopters were also banned from a four-mile stretch of the neighboring Potomac River when flights were landing.
    — Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 13 Aug. 2026
  • In different cases, Cirilli has taken on the NCAA and several universities across the country over transgender women athletes being banned from competing in sports events.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of banned
Verb
  • However, executions have been put on hold in North Carolina, due a litany of several legal challenges and some methods, like lethal gas, being outlawed.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 11 Aug. 2026
  • With fracking — which is already outlawed on offshore platforms in California waters, and is widely viewed as an environmentally degrading and often risky process — Gilda’s production would jump to about 4,000 barrels a day.
    — Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of outlawed

Browse Nearby Words

forays (into)
forbade
forbear
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Forbade.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forbade. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on forbade

Nglish: Translation of forbade for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All