forbear

/fɔːˈbɛə/

//fɔːˈbɛə// verb

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

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

The verdict

“forbear” is uncommon English (frequency #93,710 among 2,507 “F” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#93,710
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To keep away from; to avoid; to abstain from.

Corpus desk

Index EN-forbear · forbear · English

forbear · rank #93,710 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #93,710
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH forefather

Nearest frequency peer: forefather (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “forbear”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “forbear” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for forbear
PropertyValue
Headwordforbear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/fɔːˈbɛə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#93,710
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “forbear” in English

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).forbearfalls in this rarity band:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “forefather” (#93,711), “Fluxus” (#93,707), “frenemy” (#93,713). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “forbear” is #93,710. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

forbear is uncommon English at frequency #93,710 among 2,507 “F” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /fɔːˈbɛə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for forbear, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English forberen, from Old English forberan (“to forbear, abstain from, refrain; suffer, endure, tolerate, humor; restrain; do without”), from Proto-Germanic *fraberaną (“to hold back, endure”); equivalent to for- + bear. Cognate with Old Frisia… The correct English form is forbear, spelled F-O-R-B-E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To keep away from; to avoid; to abstain from.
  2. 2
    To refrain from proceeding; to pause; to delay.
  3. 3
    To refuse; to decline; to withsay; to unheed.
  4. 4
    To control oneself when provoked.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how forbear appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Mr. Sheriff, I desire that this manacling may be forborn: if you please to clap a guard of a hundred men upon us, I shall pay for it. This is not only a disgrace to me, but in general to all soldiers; which doth more trouble me than the loss of my life.
  2. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow the sun forbear to shine

Etymology

From Middle English forberen, from Old English forberan (“to forbear, abstain from, refrain; suffer, endure, tolerate, humor; restrain; do without”), from Proto-Germanic *fraberaną (“to hold back, endure”); equivalent to for- + bear. Cognate with Old Frisian forbera (“to forfeit”), Middle High German verbërn (“to have not; abstain; refrain from; avoid”) (Cimbrian forbèeran), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (frabairan, “to endure”).

This word in other languages

abstenerse(Español)éviter(Français)

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 "forbear"?
"forbear" is spelled F-O-R-B-E-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /fɔːˈbɛə/.
What does "forbear" mean?
As a verb, "forbear" means: To keep away from; to avoid; to abstain from.
How do you pronounce "forbear"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "forbear" is /fɔːˈbɛə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "forbear"?
From Middle English forberen, from Old English forberan (“to forbear, abstain from, refrain; suffer, endure, tolerate, humor; restrain; do without”), from Proto-Germanic *fraberaną (“to hold back, endure”); equivalent to for- + bear. Cognate with ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 "forbear", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

frenemy#93,713Gascony#93,724Faroese#93,688Faneuil#93,682

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list