forbid

/fɚˈbɪd/

//fɚˈbɪd// verb

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

"forbid" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“forbid” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,890. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,890
frequency rank, English
2,507
“F” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To disallow; to proscribe.

Corpus desk

Index EN-forbid · forbid · English

forbid · rank #11,890 · 9 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,890
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,507
  • PHOTO-FINISH extinct

Nearest frequency peer: extinct (-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 “forbid”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “forbid” 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).

forbid vs ford
67% similar
forbid vs forced
67% similar
forbid vs formed
67% similar

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

Key facts for forbid
PropertyValue
Headwordforbid
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/fɚˈbɪd/
Letters6
Frequency rank#11,890
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “forbid”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).forbidlands here:

#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. Same rarity band neighbours include “extinct” (#11,889), “forgiven” (#11,891), “freezer” (#11,892). Among 2,507 “F” headwords, “forbid” is #11,890. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around forbid (IPA /fɚˈbɪd/), averb. Corpus frequency is #11,890 among 2,507 “F” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for forbid, with forms such as "fforbid", "fobrid", and "forbbid". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "ford", "forced", "formed", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English forbeden, from Old English forbēodan (“to forbid, prohibit, restrain, refuse, repeal, annul”), from Proto-Germanic *furibeudaną, from *furi + *beudaną. Equivalent to for- (“from, away”) + bid (“to offer, proclaim”). Cognate with Dutch ve… The correct English form is forbid, spelled F-O-R-B-I-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    To disallow; to proscribe.
  2. 2
    To deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command.
  3. 3
    To oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command.
  4. 4
    To accurse; to blast.
  5. 5
    To defy; to challenge.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Smoking in the restaurant is forbidden.
  2. […] the Mole recollected that animal-etiquette forbade any sort of comment on the sudden disappearance of one's friends at any moment, for any reason or no reason whatever.

Etymology

From Middle English forbeden, from Old English forbēodan (“to forbid, prohibit, restrain, refuse, repeal, annul”), from Proto-Germanic *furibeudaną, from *furi + *beudaną. Equivalent to for- (“from, away”) + bid (“to offer, proclaim”). Cognate with Dutch verbieden (“to forbid”), German verbieten (“to forbid”), Danish forbyde (“to forbid”), Norwegian Bokmål forby (“to forbid”), Swedish förbjuda (“to forbid”), Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌱𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰𐌽 (faurbiudan). Related to forbode.

Synonyms

prohibitdisallowbanveto

This word in other languages

prohibir(Español)interdire(Français)verbieten(Deutsch)proibir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fforbid
  • fobrid
  • forbbid
  • forbdi
  • forbidd
  • foribd
  • forrbid
  • frobid
  • ofrbid

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of forbid - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

fforbid1fobrid2forbbid1forbdi2forbidd1foribd2forrbid1frobid2
Edit distance from "forbid"

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 "forbid"?
"forbid" is spelled F-O-R-B-I-D. The IPA pronunciation is /fɚˈbɪd/.
What does "forbid" mean?
As a verb, "forbid" means: To disallow; to proscribe.
What words are commonly confused with "forbid"?
"forbid" is commonly confused with "ford", "forced", "formed". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "forbid"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "forbid" is /fɚˈbɪd/. 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 "forbid"?
From Middle English forbeden, from Old English forbēodan (“to forbid, prohibit, restrain, refuse, repeal, annul”), from Proto-Germanic *furibeudaną, from *furi + *beudaną. Equivalent to for- (“from, away”) + bid (“to offer, proclaim”). Cognate wit... 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 "forbid", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

healed#11,896herein#11,897Jerome#11,904Julius#11,906

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

immature9 variantsdigits9 variantsLester9 variantsMarvin9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list