inhibit

verb in·hib·it \ in-ˈhi-bət \

|Updated on: 14 Jun 2018

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Examples: inhibit in a Sentence

Definition of inhibit

inhibited; inhibiting; inhibits

transitive verb

1 : to prohibit from doing something

2 a : to hold in check : restrain

b : to discourage from free or spontaneous activity especially through the operation of inner psychological or external social constraints

intransitive verb

: to cause inhibition

—

inhibitive

play \in-ˈhi-bə-tiv\ adjective

—

inhibitory

play \in-ˈhi-bə-ˌtȯr-ē\ adjective

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Examples of inhibit in a Sentence

You shouldn't allow fear of failure to inhibit you.
He was inhibited by modesty.
Fear can inhibit people from expressing their opinions.
drugs that are used to inhibit infection
Strict laws are inhibiting economic growth.

Recent Examples of inhibit from the Web

Cyst-like breakouts actually damage healthy tissue, so picking only exacerbates the skin and inhibits its self-healing abilities.

— marissa desantis, Teen Vogue, "What Cystic Acne Is, and How to Treat It," 6 June 2018
Such commentators would do well to ask who benefits from the fact that tribal conflict inhibits the passage of majoritarian policies in the United States — and to consider the possibility that voters did not polarize themselves.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Study: You Can Get Whites to Oppose Welfare With This One Weird Trick," 1 June 2018
For years Cabrera had told faculty and students that the agreements with the Koch Foundation did not inhibit academic freedom in any way.

— matthew barakat, The Christian Science Monitor, "George Mason faculty wants disclosure of Koch agreements," 4 May 2018
The documents' release follows years of denials from George Mason University that the donations inhibit academic freedom.

— matthew barakat, Fox News, "Documents show ties between university, conservative donors," 30 Apr. 2018
If this is inhibited, then fertilization doesn’t occur.

— hannah flynn, Ars Technica, "More than half a century later, where’s the male pill?," 28 Feb. 2018
Electronics, which inhibit production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, should be turned off at least a half hour before bedtime.

— rachel spector, msw, miamiherald, "Here's how to chase away your child's scary dreams | Miami Herald," 25 May 2018
She had been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare and exotic form of cancer that inhibits the bone marrow from producing healthy blood cells.

— charles p. pierce, SI.com, "Marcus Smart Continues to Give the Celtics Exactly What They Need," 14 May 2018
Separately, a molecule that inhibits the reaction was placed in the organic solvent, ensuring that the reaction was limited to the interface with water.

— john timmer, Ars Technica, "Alan Turing’s chemistry hypothesis turned into a desalination filter," 5 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inhibit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of inhibit

Middle English, from Latin inhibitus, past participle of inhibēre, from in- ²in- + habēre to have — more at ¹habit

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First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

inhibit Synonyms

Phrases

cramp one's style, give a hard time;

Synonym Discussion of inhibit

forbid, prohibit, interdict, inhibit mean to debar one from doing something or to order that something not be done. forbid implies that the order is from one in authority and that obedience is expected.