verboten

adjective

ver·​bo·​ten vər-ˈbō-tᵊn 

fər-, 

ver-

: not permitted or allowed : forbidden or prohibited by or as if by authority

These visits … qualify as "research" under the convoluted regulations of the U.S. embargo and are therefore deemed legal, whereas pleasure travel is verboten.

—Richard Alleman

Same-sex marriage and gay parents, topics once verboten in mainstream America, have become hot-buttons in this election year.

—Dirk Johnson et al.

… it's easy to forget that such intercultural exchanges were once verboten.

—Boston

For a long time paisley ties were verboten on the Jayhawk bench because Brown was wearing one when he lost his first game at Kansas five years ago.

—Jack McCallum

Did you know?

Despite its spelling, the adjective verboten has nothing to do with verb, or any of the other words in English related to Latin verbum. Rather, verboten comes from German, and originally from Old High German farboten, the past participle of the verb farbioten, meaning "to forbid." (Forbid itself derives from Old English forbēodan, a relative of farbioten.) Verboten is used to describe things that are forbidden according to a law or a highly regarded authority. There also exists the rarely used noun verboten, meaning "something forbidden by authority," as in "well-established verbotens."

Synonyms of verboten

• forbidden
• prohibited
• banned
• taboo

Examples of verboten in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The relatively small, international group allowed through security, including Robb Report, had already signed non-disclosure agreements and knew that photography was verboten. —Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 14 Apr. 2026

Gallery guards keep a watchful eye on any verboten photo taking or loud conversation. —Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Apr. 2026

Though political lyrics and statements have long been verboten, the Vienna edition is being boycotted by Slovenia, Iceland, Ireland, Spain and the Netherlands due to the inclusion of Israel in the wake of the country’s war in Gaza. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 31 Mar. 2026

Roaming the hallways, where reporters sometimes found sources who would deviate from the company line, became verboten. —Kathy Kiely, The Conversation, 17 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German, going back to Old High German farboten, past participle of farbiotan "to forbid," (parallel to Old English forbēodan "to forbid entry 1"), from far-, fur- for- + biotan "to offer" — more at bid entry 1

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for verboten

• multiphoton
• oaten

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