forbidding
grim; unfriendly; hostile; sinister: his forbidding countenance.
dangerous; threatening: forbidding clouds; forbidding cliffs.
Origin of forbidding
1Other words from forbidding
- for·bid·ding·ly, adverb
- for·bid·ding·ness, noun
- un·for·bid·ding, adjective
Words that may be confused with forbidding
- forbidding , foreboding
Words Nearby forbidding
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use forbidding in a sentence
The consensus leans toward forbidding it, though some people of knowledge think it permissible.
Graterford is a forbidding, shabby, woebegone facility built in 1929.
Here’s a Reform Even the Koch Brothers and George Soros Can Agree On | Tina Brown | November 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAs forbidding as this terrain is, there is another force at work on the ocean surface – the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
MH370 Debris Is Lost Forever, Can the Plane Be Found Without It? | Clive Irving | September 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“Mujahid pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Islamic State commanding good and forbidding evil,” it reads.
The Mystery of Donald Ray Morgan, the 44-Year-Old American Who Loved ISIS | Michael Daly | August 12, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTLast year Russia passed a law forbidding “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations,” allegedly to protect kids.
Some peculiar lines between these contracted brows gave a character of ferocity to this forbidding and sensual face.
Checkmate | Joseph Sheridan Le FanuShe fixed her imploring eyes on the Virgin's face and on the saints; but all seemed to her to wear a forbidding look.
Ramona | Helen Hunt JacksonBut at Orleans he received an angry message from Bonaparte forbidding him to return to Paris.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonIn the commands forbidding Israel to enter into covenant with the Canaanites, or their gods, the phrase is used.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John CunninghamOn July 19 a proclamation was issued forbidding the possession of firearms without licence.
The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
British Dictionary definitions for forbidding
/ (fəˈbɪdɪŋ) /
hostile or unfriendly
dangerous or ominous
Derived forms of forbidding
- forbiddingly, adverb
- forbiddingness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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