ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Forbidding

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /fɚˈbɪdɪŋ/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Forbidding is an adjective meaning Appearing to be threatening, unfriendly or potentially unpleasant.

Meaning

Appearing to be threatening, unfriendly or potentially unpleasant.

More Meanings

  1. present participle and gerund of forbid
  2. The act by which something is forbidden; a prohibition.

Example Sentences

But all these poor forbiddings could not stay him;
What cause, cry’d he, can justify our flight, To tempt the dangers of forbidding night?
Its forbidding brick and concrete exterior looms over a vast, windswept brick plaza in a style architectural critics, not without admiration, call “The New Brutalism.”
As we breasted the first summit, the precipitous mass of the Raven's Rock, towering some 250 ft. above the railway, looked grim and forbidding in the failing light, and distant Ben Wyves was shrouded in mist.

Word Forms

Synonyms for forbidding

Depending on context, synonyms include bleak, frosty, grim, uninviting, cheerless, comfortless.

Antonyms for forbidding

Common opposites include approachable, inviting, welcoming.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include forbiddance, banning, sinister, minacious, menacing, threatening.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.