forbidding — having a threatening, menacing, or discouraging appearance
Part of speech: ADJECTIVE
Definition: having a threatening, menacing, or discouraging appearance
Pronunciation (IPA): /fərˈbɪdɪŋ/
Example Sentences
- The teacher's forbidding glare made the students immediately stop talking.
- My grandmother's forbidding face when she sees me eating cookies before dinner is scarier than any horror movie.
- The forbidding mountain range discouraged many climbers from attempting the journey.
forbidding
ADJECTIVE[/fərˈbɪdɪŋ/]
having a threatening, menacing, or discouraging appearance
The forbidding cliffs loomed over the small fishing boat below.
This forbidding guard's not kidding about ridding!
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Derived from Old English 'forbeodan', a combination of the prefix 'for-' (meaning completely or utterly) and 'beodan' (meaning to command or bid). The word evolved to mean 'to prohibit entirely' or 'to refuse permission'.
Breakdown
for- (completely, utterly) + bid (command, order) + -ing (present participle/adjective suffix). The morphological structure denotes the action of commanding against something.
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The teacher's forbidding glare made the students immediately stop talking.”
“My grandmother's forbidding face when she sees me eating cookies before dinner is scarier than any horror movie.”
“The forbidding mountain range discouraged many climbers from attempting the journey.”
“His boss has such a forbidding personality that employees prefer to communicate via email rather than face-to-face.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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