forbade

/fə(ɹ)ˈbæd/

//fə(ɹ)ˈbæd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"forbade" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“forbade” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,840. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,840
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - simple past of forbid

Corpus desk

Index EN-forbade · forbade · English

forbade · rank #27,840 · 10 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,840
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH flocks

Nearest frequency peer: flocks (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “forbade”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “forbade” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

forbade vs forbid
71% similar
forbade vs forgave
71% similar
forbade vs forsake
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for forbade
PropertyValue
Headwordforbade
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/fə(ɹ)ˈbæd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#27,840
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “forbade”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).forbadelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “flocks” (#27,839), “forested” (#27,841), “flirty” (#27,838). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “forbade” is #27,840. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around forbade (IPA /fə(ɹ)ˈbæd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #27,840 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Dominant gloss: "simple past of forbid".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for forbade, with forms such as "fforbade", "fobrade", and "forabde". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "forbid", "forgave", "forsake", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is forbade, spelled F-O-R-B-A-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    simple past of forbid

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fforbade
  • fobrade
  • forabde
  • forbadde
  • forbaed
  • forbbade
  • forbdae
  • forrbade
  • frobade
  • ofrbade

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of forbade - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

fforbade1fobrade2forabde2forbadde1forbaed2forbbade1forbdae2forrbade1
Edit distance from "forbade"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "forbade"?
"forbade" is spelled F-O-R-B-A-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /fə(ɹ)ˈbæd/.
What does "forbade" mean?
As a verb, "forbade" means: simple past of forbid
What words are commonly confused with "forbade"?
"forbade" is commonly confused with "forbid", "forgave", "forsake". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "forbade"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "forbade" is /fə(ɹ)ˈbæd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "forbade" come from?
"forbade" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "forbade", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

frosted#27,845fancies#27,832faintly#27,831gentile#27,851

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

flocks10 variantsflirty10 variantsEdelman10 variantshallowed10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list