Definition of "forbid" []

• To command (someone) not to do something: I forbid you to go. (verb-transitive)
• To command against the doing or use of (something); prohibit: forbid smoking on trains. (verb-transitive)
• To have the effect of preventing; preclude: Discretion forbids a reply. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "I. iii.21 (405,9) He shall live a man forbid] Mr. Theobald has very justly explained _forbid_ by _accursed_, but without giving any reason of his interpretation."
• "What federal law does forbid is racism which pretends to be something else, such as a hiring test designed to disadvantage minority applicants or a screening process that “coincidentally” preferences applicants from predominantly white schools or communities."
• "Don't forget all the garbage they will dig up on Hillary if she, heaven forbid, is the nominee in the fall."