forbear

1 of 2

verb

for·​bear fȯr-ˈber 

fər-

forbore fȯr-ˈbȯr 

fər-

; forborne fȯr-ˈbȯrn 

fər-

; forbearing

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

1

: hold back, abstain

have forborne from taking part in any controversy

—Abraham Lincoln

2

: to control oneself when provoked : be patient

forbore with his friend's failings

forbearer noun

forbear

2 of 2

noun

for·​bear

less common spelling of forebear

: ancestor, forefather

also : precursor

—usually used in plural

His forebears fought in the American Civil War.

Synonyms

Verb

• abjure
• abstain (from)
• forgo
• forego
• keep (from)
• refrain (from)
• withhold (from)

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

Verb

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

But crucially, the FCC did not forbear from a few parts of Title II that protect consumers in other ways. —Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 12 July 2017

Noun

The march of millions of Russians carrying images of their dead forbears in parades across the country became a feature of the May 9 Victory Day celebration, marking the Russian triumph in the Great Patriotic War. —Roger Cohen Nanna Heitmann, New York Times, 6 Aug. 2023

Other families, such as the Queens and the Mahoneys, traced their ancestry to a female forbear who was considered non-White but who had spent time in England before arriving in Maryland. —Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2020

Three decades ago, Likud, then a more traditional conservative party, shunned Mr. Ben-Gvir’s ideological forbear, Meir Kahane, for being too extreme. —Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2022

Bellatine and Isaac know nothing of this Russian forbear, having both distanced themselves from their roots. —Wendy Smith, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2022

See More

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Kids Definition

forbear

1 of 2 verb

for·​bear fȯr-ˈba(ə)r 

fər-,

-ˈbe(ə)r

forbore -ˈbō(ə)r 

-ˈbȯ(ə)r

; forborne -ˈbō(ə)rn 

-ˈbȯ(ə)rn

; forbearing

1

: to hold back or keep from : abstain

2

: to be patient when annoyed

forbearer noun

forbear

2 of 2

variant of forebear