bans 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of ban
1
as in prohibits
to order not to do or use or to be done or used the company absolutely bans smoking within its buildings

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in excludes
to prevent the participation, consideration, or inclusion of the university banned those caught in the cheating scandal from graduation ceremonies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

bans

2 of 2

noun

plural of ban
1
as in curses
a prayer that harm will come to someone a father's ban upon his ungrateful son

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in prohibitions
an order that something not be done or used a quiet seaside resort with a ban on the drinking of alcohol in public places

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bans
Verb
The lawsuit marks the latest crackdown under the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, also known as the BOTS Act, which bans scalpers from circumventing ticket limits with technology. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 16 Oct. 2026 The law bans social media accounts for Florida children under 14 and requires parental consent for use by kids who are 14 or 15. — CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 The Hatch Act bans federal employees from taking part in political activity while on duty or on federal property. — Tara Suter, The Hill, 14 Oct. 2026 European tour membership is the best alternative because the PGA Tour bans players for one year dating to their last LIV event. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026 Detainers In New York, state law bans partnerships with ICE made through 287(g) agreements. — Sarah Matusek, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Oct. 2026 Federal law currently bans most robocalls to cellphones unless the caller gets consent beforehand. — Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026 Thursday’s announcement formally bans Microsoft, Adobe, Cognizant, Infosys, and four other companies from the permanent labor certification process. — Shelby Talcott, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2026 Minnesota law generally bans deepfakes in political ads, but an ad featuring synthetic video of Democratic Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan aired in May 2026 anyway. — Michael Franz, The Conversation, 5 Oct. 2026
Noun
That's led to bans on two chemical ingredients — oxybenzone, the ingredient recently targeted by the FDA, and octinoxate — in Hawaii and parts of Florida. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 Canada has responded with reciprocal bans and its own import levies, and the back-and-forth could raise prices for Alaska consumers. — Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026 Washington’s export bans restrict their access to the best AI chips, like certain models from Nvidia and AMD, while Beijing has restricted imports of some less powerful options. — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026 Some European countries such as Denmark and France, however, have already gone ahead with broader PFAS bans. — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026 Cell phone bans, surge pricing and energy priorities, in readers' eyes. — Letters To The Editor, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2026 In the wake of the Cornell case, there have been calls for greater regulation and even bans on fraternities. — Richard Hall, Time, 7 Oct. 2026 Many of the bans took place in Florida and Texas, where restrictive laws have been passed and both politicians and conservative activists have pushed for removals. — Arkansas Online, 6 Oct. 2026 The sanctions, which included asset freezes and visa bans, were imposed by the Obama administration in 2017. — Emmet Lyons, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bans
  1. prohibits
  2. excludes
  3. curses
  4. prohibitions
  5. forbids
  6. bars
  7. outlaws
  8. prevents
Verb
  • Planning Commission member Karen Sherman pointed out the city ordinance prohibits driveways exiting onto collector streets for safety.
    — Annette Beard, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • That statute prohibits tenants from damaging or removing parts of the property belonging to the landlord or allowing other people to do so.
    — Emma Clapp, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of prohibits
Verb
  • Continue reading … DOUBLE STANDARD — California business guide excludes White people and men from category list.
    — , FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Under DeWine's order, public and private universities in Ohio would be able to allow the Class of ’22 athletes to play, even though the NCAA’s new guidance excludes those who have already played four seasons.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of excludes
Noun
  • Vieira said the show offers another opportunity for people to discover Rockport beyond the fictional curses portrayed in the series.
    — Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 15 Sep. 2026
  • But repression isn’t a good plan when generations-long curses run in the bloodline, because Sally’s daughter Kylie (Joey King), now a college student, has gone and fallen in love behind her mother’s back.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of curses
Noun
  • In 2011, former President Barack Obama signed a law removing wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains from the endangered species list, a change that removed federal prohibitions on killing or harassing them in that region.
    — Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • As a critical first step, the intelligence committees should initiate a thorough oversight investigation into how the norm has been implemented in practice and the current administration’s adherence to its prohibitions.
    — DAVID S. COHEN, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of prohibitions
Verb
  • Yet since the American Medical Association Code of Ethics explicitly forbids physician participation in capital punishment, executions are rarely, if ever, performed by expert clinicians.
    — Dr. Jacob Appel, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The plaintiffs in that case argued that their faiths allowed or required the procedure in circumstances the ban currently forbids.
    — Rachel Rebouché, The Conversation, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of forbids
Verb
  • The draft also bars other federal departments, agencies, and officials from suspending a model’s development, deployment, or internal use.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The National Flood Insurance Program, which covers the vast majority of flood insurance policies in the country, bars communities from allowing dry floodproofing of homes in flood zones.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of bars
Verb
  • The Big Apple already outlaws full-sized tractor-trailers from its surface streets, though the law is almost never enforced.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The Invasive Species Management Act outlaws the sale and spread of 30 species, like the Bradford (or Callery) pear, Japanese barberry and running bamboo, throughout the Garden State.
    — Nick Caloway, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2026
Definition of outlaws
Verb
  • Users were likely restricted from properly spelling out such words because, by design, the platform prevents emoji from being used more than once in reaction to a post.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • In addition to being barred from ever owning livestock again, Barr’s plea agreement prevents him from owning or living with any type of animal for 15 years, according to PETA.
    — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of prevents

Browse Nearby Words

banquettes
bans
banshee
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Cite this Entry

“Bans.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bans. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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