forbid

Universal Words 1 ~ sb (from doing sth) to order sb not to do sth; to order that sth must not be done: [VN] He forbade them from mentioning the subject again. * Her father forbade the marriage. * [VNtoinf] You are all forbidden to leave. * [VNN] My doctor has forbidden me sugar. [also VN-ing, V-ing] 2 (formal) to make it difficult or impossible to do sth: [VN] Lack of space forbids further treatment of the topic here. [also VNtoinf] IDIOMS God / Heaven forbid (that...) (spoken) used to say that you hope that sth will not happen: 'Maybe you'll end up as a lawyer, like me.' 'God forbid!' HELPNOTE Some people find this use offensive.