forbidding 1 of 3

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forbidding

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noun

forbidding

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verb

present participle of forbid

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 forbidding
Adjective
Sky-high building vacancies, slumping rents and widening loan delinquencies have coalesced to force owners of Bay Area office buildings to navigate a forbidding economic landscape. George Avalos, The Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2025 Early on, the piece is spare and a bit forbidding, with relentless repetitions of solitary figures. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Verb
There has been some discussion in the Texas Legislature to ban masks, especially after concerns about violent incidents linked to protests related to the Israel-Hamas war, but there are no laws in Texas forbidding them at protests. Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Mar. 2025 The silent close-ups of the people in the vehicle are subtly unsettling, while all around them rolls a beautiful, forbidding landscape. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for forbidding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forbidding
Adjective
  • The family eventually crosses paths with a corrupt theme-park operator (John Ortiz), his sheriff (Colin Hanks) and a terrifying crime boss (Sharon Stone) before chaos ensues.
    Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 15 May 2025
  • The additional terrifying factor was that the plane had only three minutes of fuel left — and Cruise had still not gotten up.
    Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 14 May 2025
Adjective
  • The rest of the film takes place in a prison, where Henry’s gruff but philosophical cellmate, Gene (Shia LaBeouf), tries to teach him the ways of the world.
    Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Fimmel digs into the more stereotypical gruff bounty hunter with relish, though the character itself is a western staple.
    Pete Hammond, Deadline, 1 May 2025
Verb
  • Smith, who is now winding down both his cases against the president-elect due to a longstanding Department of Justice policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president, has not provided any details about the contents of his report.
    Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 8 Jan. 2025
  • That has prompted states including Colorado, New York and California to enact legislation prohibiting medical debt from being included on residents' credit reports or factored into their credit scores.
    Noam Levey, NPR, 7 Jan. 2025
Adjective
  • Major cities like New York were already facing frightening death tolls that climbed higher each day—but that’s not what Eddington is about.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 17 May 2025
  • And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought.
    Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 May 2025
Adjective
  • In places where higher education was all but a miraculous dream, the act of reading can be intimidating, exclusionary, not to mention unaffordable for people who spend their days working two to three jobs and twelve-hour shifts.
    Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 14 May 2025
  • Hussain has a friendly, reassuring presence, making the already-simple recipes even less intimidating.
    Katie Rife, EW.com, 11 May 2025
Noun
  • The broad prohibition also seems to work against Trump’s stated goal of bringing more jobs to America.
    Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
  • Some suffragists argued that immigrants opposed suffrage for women and prohibition, and therefore immigrant voting posed a threat to their agenda.
    Time, Time, 19 May 2025
Adjective
  • Tom and Rhyan make a formidable duo on the right side of the line and Jenkins will move to center after spending most of his career at left guard.
    Rob Reischel, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025
  • Selling a descent from stress into a state of devastation that can never be shed (only briefly reprised) is the formidable actress Parinaz Izadyar.
    Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 22 May 2025
Adjective
  • And Hannah Waddingham gives a good, stern space-lady as the voice of the Galactic Grand Councilwoman.
    EW.com, EW.com, 20 May 2025
  • In Kurosawa’s version, the chauffeur was an exceedingly meek man who got down on the floor to beg his stern shoe-manufacturer boss, played by the great Toshiro Mifune, to save his son.
    David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Forbidding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forbidding. Accessed 27 May. 2025.

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