1
: to hold oneself back from especially with an effort
forbore mentioning the incident
tried to forbear making rash judgments
2
obsolete
: to do without
3
obsolete
: to leave alone : shun
forbear his presence—
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare2
: to control oneself when provoked : be patient
forbore with his friend's failings
forbearer
noun
Examples of forbear in a Sentence
Verb
He carefully forbore any mention of her name for fear of upsetting them.
We decided to forbear provoking him any further.
We decided to forbear from provoking him any further.
He forebore to mention her name.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ann Levin, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
The resulting combination spat out 349 hp and 391 lb-ft, enabling it to run roughly neck and neck with its iconic 300E 5.6 AMG forbear; Car and Driver recorded a 4.9 second 0-60 mph, and a quarter mile of 13.5 seconds at 105 mph, putting it neck-and-neck with a Porsche 911 Carrera of the day.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2025
As a new generation sloughed off the integrationist dreams of their Civil Rights forbears in favor of the Black Power Movement’s call for self-determination, Baraka renegotiated his position as a white literary darling and embraced a racial pride reinforced by righteous anger.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2025
The Commission has never reversed a decision to forbear in this situation.
—Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 8 Apr. 2024
Tuesday’s proposal makes the same commitment, the people said, forbearing from 26 provisions of Title II and more than 700 other agency rules that could be seen as intrusive.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 26 Sep. 2023
The limitation of unanimous consent agreements is that on matters of controversy, senators are not going to mutually agree to forbear.
—Jay Cost, Washington Examiner, 29 Apr. 2021
So, if a person is enacting their right to resistance, then bystanders have an obligation to forbear and not to interfere.
—TheWeek, 12 Apr. 2020
Private investors provide critical seed capital and can be more forbearing than public markets.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 20 Sep. 2018
Max Goldbart, Deadline, 27 Mar. 2025
Yet, the era of social media and podcasts has expanded their reach in ways their forbears could only have dreamed of.
—Theresa Iker / Made By History, TIME, 12 Dec. 2024
As with its forbear, a five-speed stick controlled all that, with the power reaching the road through the rear wheels.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 11 Dec. 2024
Busta paid much homage to musical forbears, including reggae legends like Lieutenant Stitchie and Shabba Ranks, and clocked the historical importance of the music of Memphis.
—Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2024
One deployment of these colors that would have shocked our design forbears is in the kitchen.
—Emily Evans Eerdmans, Architectural Digest, 23 July 2024
The area where today’s GOP would be most recognizable to its Reaganite forbears is in the domain of cultural and moral conservatism.
—Matthew Wilson, Orange County Register, 21 July 2024
To our 17th-century forbears, history was nearing its close.
—Martin Rees, TIME, 24 Apr. 2024
That is, unless an actor’s forbears happened to be named Tiffany, Cartier or Boucheron.
—Guy Trebay, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
The book ends with a monologue from Bobby’s preternaturally wise and forbearing wife, Triona, who is puzzling over a dramatic plot development in the last chapter.
—Ann Levin, Boston Herald, 22 May 2025
The resulting combination spat out 349 hp and 391 lb-ft, enabling it to run roughly neck and neck with its iconic 300E 5.6 AMG forbear; Car and Driver recorded a 4.9 second 0-60 mph, and a quarter mile of 13.5 seconds at 105 mph, putting it neck-and-neck with a Porsche 911 Carrera of the day.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2025
As a new generation sloughed off the integrationist dreams of their Civil Rights forbears in favor of the Black Power Movement’s call for self-determination, Baraka renegotiated his position as a white literary darling and embraced a racial pride reinforced by righteous anger.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2025
The Commission has never reversed a decision to forbear in this situation.
—Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 8 Apr. 2024
Tuesday’s proposal makes the same commitment, the people said, forbearing from 26 provisions of Title II and more than 700 other agency rules that could be seen as intrusive.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 26 Sep. 2023
The limitation of unanimous consent agreements is that on matters of controversy, senators are not going to mutually agree to forbear.
—Jay Cost, Washington Examiner, 29 Apr. 2021
So, if a person is enacting their right to resistance, then bystanders have an obligation to forbear and not to interfere.
—TheWeek, 12 Apr. 2020
Private investors provide critical seed capital and can be more forbearing than public markets.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 20 Sep. 2018
Noun
The London Screenings feel very UK and MIP in London is nowhere near the size of its Cannes forbear.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 27 Mar. 2025
Yet, the era of social media and podcasts has expanded their reach in ways their forbears could only have dreamed of.
—Theresa Iker / Made By History, TIME, 12 Dec. 2024
As with its forbear, a five-speed stick controlled all that, with the power reaching the road through the rear wheels.
—Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 11 Dec. 2024
Busta paid much homage to musical forbears, including reggae legends like Lieutenant Stitchie and Shabba Ranks, and clocked the historical importance of the music of Memphis.
—Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2024
One deployment of these colors that would have shocked our design forbears is in the kitchen.
—Emily Evans Eerdmans, Architectural Digest, 23 July 2024
The area where today’s GOP would be most recognizable to its Reaganite forbears is in the domain of cultural and moral conservatism.
—Matthew Wilson, Orange County Register, 21 July 2024
To our 17th-century forbears, history was nearing its close.
—Martin Rees, TIME, 24 Apr. 2024
That is, unless an actor’s forbears happened to be named Tiffany, Cartier or Boucheron.
—Guy Trebay, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Forbear.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forbear. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
forbear
1 of 2 verb
for·bear
fȯr-ˈba(ə)r 
fər-,
-ˈbe(ə)r
1
: to hold back or keep from : abstain
2
: to be patient when annoyed
forbearer
noun
forbear
2 of 2variant of forebear
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