forbidding 1 of 3

adjective

fər-ˈbi-diŋ How to pronounce forbidding (audio)
Definition of forbiddingnext
1
as in terrifying
causing fear a dark, forbidding house, that is reputed to be haunted

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2
as in intimidating
harsh and threatening in manner or appearance told us in a forbidding voice to stop calling him by that name

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forbidding

2 of 3

noun

as in prohibiting
the act of ordering that something not be done or used the landlord's forbidding of loud music after 10:00 p.m.

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forbidding

3 of 3

verb

present participle of forbid
as in banning
to order not to do or use or to be done or used smoking is forbidden throughout the building we forbid you to see him

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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
Al enthusiastically pointed out 14th-century Doune Castle, a forbidding pile of stones that today is less known as a royal retreat for Mary, Queen of Scots, and Bonnie Prince Charlie than as a popular movie and TV setting. — Patti Nickell, Boston Herald, 15 Feb. 2026 Reams of barbed wire gathered from the fields around Penpont were fashioned into a mesh curtain whose ends wrapped around two columns at the top of the museum’s grand staircase; the result was both alluring and forbidding. — Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
Noun
But Cheney rarely tried to combat the image painted by critics and comedians of him as a dour partisan, dark and forbidding. — Susan Page, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
Verb
Anyone attempting to think seriously about Elon Musk is confronted with a forbidding cognitive dissonance. — Mark O’Connell, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026 The parliament in England created laws against Quakers, forbidding them to worship freely, charging them with punishments for refusing to take oaths or refusing to remove their hats. — Tesfaye Negussie, ABC News, 3 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for forbidding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forbidding
  1. terrifying
  2. intimidating
  3. prohibition
  4. prohibiting
  5. frightening
  6. gruff
  7. banning
  8. outlawing
Adjective
  • Video captured recently in Botswana shows the terrifying moment a tourist boat had to outpace a charging hippo.
    — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The bandages, cuts and stitches were still fresh from the terrifying attack on Jones Street on Wednesday evening.
    — Tammy Mutasa, CBS News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of terrifying
Adjective
  • The record is 92,003, an intimidating number that AT&T Stadium can easily accommodate, and a figure that is an unspoken goal for an event coming to Arlington this month.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The nozzle is also relatively easy to access and replace from the front of the toolhead, making swaps and maintenance far less intimidating than on many older enthusiast printers.
    — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of intimidating
Noun
  • Blind to Russia’s own staged electoral process, the Kremlin has repeatedly pushed the idea that the martial law prohibition on Ukrainian elections in wartime means Zelensky is illegitimate.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
  • DeSantis has signed strict legislation into law on the issue, including a prohibition on data centers passing on costs to ratepayers and new authority for local communities to reject data centers from being built.
    — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of prohibition
Verb
  • However, successive boards have chosen not to enforce the restriction prohibiting dogs.
    — Howard Dakoff, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The Town Council then approved an ordinance in June prohibiting electric bike and scooter riding in public parks.
    — Sierra Lopez, Mercury News, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of prohibiting
Adjective
  • But the ordeal was frightening and bewildering for Cliffel, who still didn't know what had caused her behavior.
    — Deborah Becker, NPR, 16 Aug. 2026
  • There’s a frightening imbalance in how the mainstream media report on these candidates, which tends to take it pretty easy on the latter.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of frightening
Adjective
  • His gruff mechanic Cooter Davenport is introduced as a hell-raising, uncouth wild man, constantly taunting the authorities and flouting convention.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Pangan remembers of Brun, imitating his gruff voice, and shaking her head.
    — Guthrie Scrimgeour, Rolling Stone, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of gruff
Noun
  • Rescues during holidays have declined in recent years, owing to the prohibition of alcohol on Memorial Day, Labor Day, and the Fourth of July, along with the banning of diving along the Clay Banks, Nunez said.
    — Reeti Malhotra July 10, Sacbee.com, 10 July 2026
  • The talk was organized by local synagogues and the Chattanooga Jewish Federation in response to the banning of the novel by a nearby Tennessee school district a month prior.
    — SPIN Team, SPIN, 22 June 2026
Definition of banning
Verb
  • Denver has also considered outlawing natural gas in homes after implementing new restrictions on its use in commercial buildings.
    — Noelle Phillips, Denver Post, 7 Aug. 2026
  • But in the late 1970s, the country followed other nations in outlawing marijuana, and chased away the hippies who had flocked to the country.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of outlawing

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Cite this Entry

“Forbidding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forbidding. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on forbidding

Nglish: Translation of forbidding for Spanish Speakers

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