Synonyms of forbidding

forbidding 1 of 3

adjective

fər-ˈbi-diŋ 

1

as in terrifying

causing fear

a dark, forbidding house, that is reputed to be haunted

Synonyms & Similar Words

• terrifying
• frightening
• formidable
• scary
• horrible
• terrible
• intimidating
• fearful
• dread
• alarming
• shocking
• horrifying
• threatening
• startling
• eerie
• creepy
• dreadful
• trying
• ghastly
• frightful
• fearsome
• discouraging
• troubling
• dire
• disturbing
• redoubtable
• horrendous
• gruesome
• direful
• spine-chilling
• unnerving
• hair-raising
• daunting
• disconcerting
• perturbing
• demoralizing
• disquieting
• hideous
• weird
• distressing
• dismaying
• appalling
• nightmarish
• horrid
• grisly
• monstrous
• awful
• macabre
• bone-chilling
• atrocious

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reassuring
• comforting
• inviting
• relaxing
• soothing
• calming
• consoling
• tranquilizing
• nonthreatening
• quieting
• lulling
• pacifying
• nonintimidating

2

as in intimidating

harsh and threatening in manner or appearance

told us in a forbidding voice to stop calling him by that name

Synonyms & Similar Words

• intimidating
• gruff
• stern
• fierce
• grim
• hostile
• rugged
• bleak
• severe
• lowering
• stark
• austere
• rough
• dour
• dark
• cold
• flinty
• hardened
• steely
• somber
• ungentle
• solemn
• stubborn
• inhospitable
• unfriendly
• inimical
• black
• intent
• moody
• resolute
• adamant
• determined
• bound
• rigid
• unsympathetic
• stiff
• obstinate
• unflinching
• uncompromising
• steadfast
• implacable
• willful
• inflexible
• resolved
• unrelenting
• unbending
• purposeful
• unyielding
• cheerless
• obdurate
• immovable
• serious
• unchangeable
• hard
• fixed
• gloomy
• firm
• immutable
• sullen
• joyless
• surly
• melancholy
• brooding
• morose
• unsmiling
• set
• mulish
• sulky
• melancholic
• hardheaded
• staid
• grave
• humorless
• glum
• self-willed
• sober
• ironhanded
• weighty
• sobersided

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• benign
• mild
• gentle
• easy
• soft
• bland
• tender
• soothing
• benignant
• quiet
• mellow
• meek
• pleasant
• agreeable
• tranquil
• sweet
• inviting
• nonintimidating
• bright
• cheerful
• pleasing
• happy
• glad
• merry
• sunny
• silly
• frivolous
• playful
• lighthearted
• mirthful
• goofy
• giddy
• harebrained
• flighty
• scatterbrained
• featherbrained
• light-headed

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.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• prohibiting
• prohibition
• banning
• outlawing
• barring
• enjoining
• proscription
• proscribing
• interdiction
• suppression
• interdicting
• charging
• instruction
• bidding
• dictation
• decreeing
• direction
• discouragement
• deterrence
• repression
• dissuading
• coercion
• compulsion
• constraint
• force

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• permission
• approval
• allowance
• sanction
• toleration
• support
• endorsement
• license
• clearance
• authorization
• promotion
• sufferance
• encouragement
• compliance
• submission
• obedience

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• prohibiting
• banning
• outlawing
• preventing
• discouraging
• proscribing
• enjoining
• barring
• halting
• stopping
• excluding
• interdicting
• precluding
• restraining
• deterring
• curbing
• blocking
• quashing
• dissuading
• suppressing
• repressing
• rejecting
• disallowing
• silencing
• depriving
• subduing
• impeding
• quelling
• vetoing
• hindering
• inhibiting
• obstructing
• squelching
• shutting out
• checking
• ruling out
• repudiating
• crushing
• squashing
• debarring
• cracking down (on)
• embargoing
• clamping down (on)
• putting down
• bridling
• snuffing (out)
• reining (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• permitting
• allowing
• letting
• approving
• authorizing
• suffering
• endorsing
• sanctioning
• supporting
• promoting
• encouraging
• advancing
• warranting
• licensing
• furthering
• ordering
• cultivating
• commanding
• abetting
• forwarding
• nurturing
• enduring
• bidding
• bearing
• tolerating
• abiding
• nourishing
• countenancing
• brooking

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of forbidding

Adjective

Meanwhile, the windswept moors feel like something out of a classic thriller, forbidding and alluring at once. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Feb. 2026

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

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

He was taken to Guanjay, where he was held for nearly a year without receiving a hearing, despite a national law forbidding authorities to detain a person for more than six months without awarding them a trial. — News Desk, Artforum, 15 July 2026

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