What does debarred mean?
"Debarred" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "debar," meaning officially excluded or prevented from entering a place, taking part in an activity, or enjoying a right or privilege. The word belongs chiefly to formal and legal English: contractors are debarred from public tenders, professionals can be debarred from practice by disciplinary bodies, and students may be debarred from examinations for failing to meet requirements. Unlike everyday words such as "banned" or "kept out," debarred implies a deliberate act by an authority with the power to enforce exclusion — a court, regulatory agency, institution, or governing body. It is normally followed by "from" to specify what access has been withdrawn. Derived from the same root as "bar," it conveys finality and official sanction rather than informal refusal, which makes it a precise choice whenever formal, enforceable exclusion is meant.
verb (past tense and past participle of 'debar')Excluded or prevented from a place, activity, or privilege, typically by official or legal means.
- Officially excluded or barred from a place, activity, profession, or privilege, especially by legal or formal authority.
"The athlete was debarred from competition after failing the drug test."
"The contractor was debarred from bidding on government projects for five years."
"Students who miss the registration deadline are debarred from sitting the examination."
In legal English, being debarred doesn't just mean being told no — it means an official door has been formally locked against you.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of debarred
The verb "debar" entered English in the late sixteenth century, formed from the prefix "de-" (indicating removal or reversal) combined with "bar," in its sense of a barrier that shuts something out. "Bar" itself comes via Old French "barre" from Vulgar Latin *barra, meaning a rod or obstruction — the same root that gives us "barrier," "embargo," and "barricade." Thus to debar is literally to remove or shut out behind a bar. The form "debarred" follows standard English doubling of the final consonant before -ed.
Related word forms
How debarred is actually used
The word carries a formal, often legal register. It typically appears in contexts involving professional bodies, courts, examinations, and government contracting. The preposition 'from' almost always follows it when stating what someone is excluded from.
Easily confused with debarred
'Disbarred' applies specifically to lawyers being struck off the roll of attorneys, while 'debarred' is the broader term for exclusion from any right, office, or privilege.