Ban

/ˈbæn/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive) To prohibit; to interdict; to proscribe; to forbid or block from participation..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To prohibit; to interdict; to proscribe; to forbid or block from participation.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To summon; to call out.
3. (transitive) To anathematize; to pronounce an ecclesiastical curse upon; to place under a ban.
4. (transitive) To curse; to execrate.
5. (ambitransitive) To curse; to utter curses or maledictions.
6. A prohibition.
7. A public proclamation or edict; also, a summons by public proclamation, and in early use especially a summons to arms.
8. The gathering of the (French) king’s vassals for war; the whole body of vassals assembled this way, or liable to be summoned; originally the same as arriere-ban, but distinct since the 16th century, following French usage—see arriere-ban.

Example Sentences

Bare feet are banned in this establishment.

To whom the goodly earth and air Are banned

Jailing her on Wednesday, magistrate Liz Clyne told Robins: "You have shown little remorse either for the death of the kitten or the trauma to your former friend Sarah Knutton." She was also banned from keeping animals for 10 years.

No sooner has a [synthetic] drug been blacklisted than chemists adjust their recipe and start churning out a subtly different one. These “legal highs” are sold for the few months it takes the authorities to identify and ban them, and then the cycle begins again.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Sunday banning the sale at grocery checkouts of all plastic bags, regardless of thickness.

They will curse and ban[…]even into the deep pit of hell, all that gainsay their appetite.

:“I seldom ban, sir,” said he to the man; “but if you play any of your hound's-foot tricks, and leave puir Berwick before he's sorted, to rin after spuilzie, deil be wi' me if I do not give your craig a thraw”

That sacred fruit, sacred to abstinence, Much more to taste it under ban to touch

Synonyms for ban

Antonyms for ban

Related Words

Word Forms

• bans
• banning
• banned
• bani

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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