forbear

²forbear

Definition of FORBEAR

variant of forebear

¹for·bear

verb \fȯr-ˈber, fər-\

for·bore\-ˈbȯr\for·borne\-ˈbȯrn\for·bear·ing

Definition of FORBEAR

transitive verb

1

obsolete : to do without

2

: to hold oneself back from especially with an effort <forbore mentioning the incident>

3

obsolete : to leave alone : shun <forbear his presence — Shakespeare>

intransitive verb

1

: hold back, abstain <have forborne from taking part in any controversy — Abraham Lincoln>

2

: to control oneself when provoked : be patient

— for·bear·er noun

Examples of FORBEAR

1. He carefully forbore any mention of her name for fear of upsetting them.
2. We decided to forbear provoking him any further.
3. We decided to forbear from provoking him any further.
4. He forebore to mention her name.

Origin of FORBEAR

Middle English forberen, from Old English forberan to endure, do without, from for- + beran to bear

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to FORBEAR

Synonyms

abjure, abstain (from), forgo (also forego), keep (from), refrain (from), withhold (from)

Antonyms

bow (to), give in (to), submit (to), succumb (to), surrender (to), yield (to)

Related Words

avoid, eschew, shun; check, constrain, curb, inhibit; deny, refuse, reject, repudiate; buck, combat, fight

Near Antonyms

acquiesce (to), capitulate, concede (to), knuckle under (to)

Rhymes with FORBEAR

affair, aglare, airfare, Ajmer, Altair, antbear, armchair, au pair, aware, bakeware, barware, Basseterre, Baudelaire, beachwear, bergère, beware, bid fair, big hair, black bear, bricklayer, broodmare, brown bear, bugbear, caneware, carfare, Carrère, cave bear, chi-square, clayware, club chair, compare, compere, confrere, cookware, corsair, courseware, creamware, crosshair, cudbear, daymare, dead air, decare, deck chair, declare, delftware, despair, dishware, éclair, elsewhere, ensnare, eyewear, fanfare, fieldfare, firmware, flatware, Flaubert, footwear, forebear, forswear, foursquare, freeware, funfair, galère, giftware, glassware, Great Bear, groupware, Gruyère, guard hair, hardware, health care, hectare, high chair, horsehair, hot air, impair, infare, Khmer, Kildare, knitwear, life-care, light air, longhair, loungewear, Mayfair, menswear, meunière, midair, mohair, Molière, neckwear, nightmare, no fair, outstare, out-there, outwear, playwear, plein air, plowshare, Poor Clare, Port Blair, portiere, premiere, prepare, pushchair, rainwear, redware, repair, root hair, Sancerre, sea hare, shank's mare, shareware, shorthair, side chair, Sinclair, skiwear, sleepwear, slipware, sloth bear, software, somewhere, spongeware, sportswear, stemware, stoneware, sun bear, swimwear, threadbare, tinware, torchère, trouvère, tuyere, unfair, unhair, unswear, Voltaire, warfare, welfare, wheelchair, wirehair, workfare