Synonyms of inhibited

inhibited 1 of 2

adjective

as in restrained

Related Words

• restrained
• aloof
• introverted
• reserved
• dumb
• silent
• reticent
• taciturn
• indrawn
• laconic
• uncommunicative
• sedate
• tight-lipped
• closemouthed
• staid
• bashful
• diffident
• retiring
• backward
• sheepish
• coy
• self-contained
• sober
• modest
• demure
• self-effacing

Dissimilar Words

• communicative
• talkative
• vocal
• outspoken
• conversational
• loquacious
• chatty
• unreserved
• garrulous
• talky
• mouthy
• diffuse
• gabby
• gossipy
• blabby
• free-spoken
• motormouthed
• outgoing
• verbose
• extroverted
• prolix
• wordy
• windy
• rambling
• gregarious
• sociable
• talebearing
• long-winded

inhibited

2 of 2

verb

past tense of inhibit

1

as in hampered

to create difficulty for the work or activity of

the cold inhibited her from getting much work done that morning

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hampered
• impeded
• hindered
• embarrassed
• obstructed
• handicapped
• blocked
• delayed
• stymied
• disrupted
• tied up
• restrained
• cramped
• interfered (with)
• short-circuited
• constrained
• encumbered
• clogged
• handcuffed
• hobbled
• held back
• shackled
• fettered
• trammeled
• manacled
• thwarted
• frustrated
• tied
• bound
• curbed
• hog-tied
• stifled
• held up
• reined
• cramped one's style
• retained
• balked
• gave a hard time
• retarded
• checked
• tethered
• arrested
• braked
• baffled
• confined
• choked
• leashed
• sabotaged
• barricaded
• bogged (down)
• repressed
• suppressed
• strangled
• chained
• blockaded
• derailed
• haltered
• mired
• smothered
• roadblocked
• suffocated
• muzzled
• foiled
• stumped
• hemmed (in)
• hedged (in)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• assisted
• helped
• facilitated
• aided
• opened
• cleared
• liberated
• released
• freed
• encouraged
• promoted
• loosened
• unplugged
• untied
• smoothed
• unstopped
• made way
• unclogged
• furthered

2

as in controlled

to keep from exceeding a desirable degree or level (as of expression)

laws designed to inhibit the powers of the intelligence organizations

Synonyms & Similar Words

• controlled
• contained
• regulated
• curbed
• kept
• restrained
• suppressed
• stifled
• measured
• constrained
• tamed
• governed
• ruled
• checked
• stopped
• held
• pulled in
• interrupted
• bridled
• reined (in)
• repressed
• swallowed
• hindered
• hampered
• impeded
• blocked
• arrested
• held back
• smothered
• choked (back)
• muffled
• squelched
• minced
• obstructed
• silenced
• strangled
• sank
• pocketed
• bottled (up)
• handcuffed
• muzzled
• gagged

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• lost
• liberated
• loosened
• expressed
• unleashed
• took out
• aired
• loosed
• vented

3

as in dissuaded

to steer (a person) from an activity or course of action

a fundamental sense of propriety should have inhibited you from making a drunken spectacle of yourself

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dissuaded
• discouraged
• deterred
• diverted
• repelled
• unsold

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• encouraged
• persuaded
• urged
• induced
• exhorted
• prodded
• prompted
• goaded
• impelled
• egged (on)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of inhibited

Adjective

Both players were so inhibited for the final game of the set that the level of play resembled something from a local park. — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 27 May 2026

This really is a time to be less inhibited about going out. — Joe Hernandez, NPR, 25 May 2026

School is the crucible where raw vitality encounters the collective will to impose order and control but also to bring cultural richness to lives that might otherwise remain inhibited and crude. — Tim Parks, The New York Review of Books, 4 Apr. 2026

Her last and only boyfriend, Tim, would have been too inhibited. — Cassandra Neyenesch, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2026

Participants who appeared engaged, responsive, and comfortable in the interaction, maintaining eye contact and seeming open rather than inhibited, were far more likely to be liked. — Big Think, 18 Mar. 2026

Callie hangs out with her more inhibited best friend, Minnie Dunn, played spectacularly well by Katherine Mallen Kupferer. — Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2026

There are students who feel inhibited from expressing their Jewish or Zionist identity because of the atmosphere of the atmosphere of intimidation or harassment on college campuses. — Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Aug. 2025

Nini and Lali seemed happier without him—more relaxed, less inhibited. — Tao Lin, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025

Verb

Historical discriminatory practices like redlining have inhibited homeownership for Black and Latino families across the nation dating back to the 1930s. — Stephanie A. Dhuman, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026

Both honey and garlic fall into the category of foods in which the bacteria can live, but under normal circumstances, the growth of spores would be inhibited, says Joy Gail Waite-Cusic, a professor of food safety at Oregon State University. — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 28 Sep. 2026

Both mainly reduced trade barriers and committed all three governments to avoid policies that inhibited commercial flows with one another. — Chad P. Bown, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2026

The rough waters, which included waves that were about 13 feet high, inhibited rescue efforts. — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 12 Aug. 2026

Emerging research shows that the diaphragm’s ability to act as a respiratory muscle is inhibited during active bracing for spinal stability. — Dana Santas, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026

This action supports methanogens, too, since they are inhibited by oxygen. — Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 27 July 2026

Ferreira found that peptides in the venom powerfully inhibited an enzyme involved in regulating blood pressure. — Steve Midway, STAT, 16 July 2026

Moon said that grieving Barnett has been a slow, complex process inhibited by the nearly two years of legal proceedings between her father’s death and Johnson’s conviction. — Ilana Arougheti june 30, Kansas City Star, 30 June 2026