1
as in terrifying
causing fear
a dark, forbidding house, that is reputed to be haunted
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of forbidding
Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2025
Despite its forbidding appearance, the building is now a cultural centre.
—James Medd, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Dec. 2025
Susan Page, USA Today, 4 Nov. 2025
Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2026
Both city and county councils have passed resolutions forbidding it.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for forbidding
Adjective
The hike out to it is one of San Diego County’s most famous, and most forbidding.
—Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2025
Despite its forbidding appearance, the building is now a cultural centre.
—James Medd, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Dec. 2025
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
Upending a delicate balance Our original Constitution refers to religion only in forbidding any religious test to hold public office.
—Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2026
Both city and county councils have passed resolutions forbidding it.
—Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for forbidding
Recent Examples of Synonyms for forbidding
Adjective
-
This isn’t the terrifying Frost of modernist criticism—although the poem is fully aware of darkness, and its world, on the cusp of World War I, like ours, certainly had its terrors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Most prior visits had morphed into extended trips into a terrifying medical underworld — to a purgatory known as emergency department boarding.—
Elisabeth Rosenthal,
Miami Herald,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
If a flip-flop is your go-to, consider these for a less intimidating pick in keeping with your personal style.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Apr. 2026
-
From the scholarly and enlightened to the tough and intimidating, people of all walks of life and cultural backgrounds love a good, thick face of hair.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The report also included policy recommendations for DHS, such as ending roving patrols, prohibiting federal agents from carrying tear gas and pepper spray as a regular course of practice and equipping all agents with body cameras.—
Selina Guevara,
NBC news,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation to regulate the project and impose restrictions on donations -- aimed at prohibiting bribery.—
Emily Guskin,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Her Dispatch from the scene captured the moments of frightening confusion as high-ranking members of the government were whisked away from the Washington Hilton, where the event was held.—
Michael Schulman,
New Yorker,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The ultimate scene packs a punch here — without spoiling things, Abigail Onwunali is particularly powerful in a role that Wilson saves till the eleventh hour, and Boone goes to places at once frightening and devastating.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
McVay raised some eyebrows Thursday night with his gruff demeanor following the pick of Simpson.—
Adam Grosbard,
Oc Register,
25 Apr. 2026
-
As previously announced, Burr plays a gruff American record-store owner who convinces a ragtag gang of teenage misfits that their best, and possibly only, chance to lose their virginity before graduating high school is at a massive open-air mass for the visiting Pope.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Senate bill closely mirrors a version passed by the House last month, with the Senate version expanding the prohibition of civil immigration arrests in Massachusetts courthouses to additional locations, including child care facilities and public schools.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
1 May 2026
-
And the Supreme Court limited when states can use race in redistricting, even when trying to comply with the Voting Rights Act’s prohibition against racial discrimination.—
Shauna Muckle,
Miami Herald,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Jaisimha said Colorado’s provisions banning AI companies from claiming specific expertise, for example, would be more robust than what other states have passed, along with the reporting requirements for AI companies in the bill.—
Nick Coltrain,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Now, by neither embracing that bedlam nor banning it outright, the action gets stuck in limbo.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Hathaway gets the most fun part to play in this formidable ensemble, starring as egotistical actress Daphne Kluger, who starts as the mark but ends up enlisting among the thieves.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
-
Hekt’s debut album heralds a union between the left-field pop scene of his native Copenhagen and the influential Glasgow label Numbers, whose formidable run of 2010s releases—including several landmark SOPHIE singles—has left a neon imprint on the new Danish vanguard.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Forbidding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/forbidding. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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