What does forbade mean?
"Forbade" is the simple past tense of "forbid," a verb meaning to prohibit an action by order or authority. When someone forbade something, they issued a command that it not be done — a parent might have forbade a child to swim after dark, or a government might have forbade public gatherings. The word carries an air of authority and finality, often evoking parental, religious, or institutional power, and it appears frequently in literature and historical writing. It is slightly formal in register; in casual speech people more often say "didn't allow" or "wouldn't let." Notably, English accepts two past forms, "forbade" and "forbad," with the former being more common, while the past participle is "forbidden." The verb descends from Old English "forbeodan," combining the prefix "for-" with the ancient Germanic root behind "bid," giving this everyday prohibitionist word a pedigree stretching back well over a thousand years.
verb"Forbade" is the simple past tense of the verb "forbid," meaning to order someone not to do something or to prohibit something by authority.
- To have ordered someone not to do something; the past tense of forbid, expressing prohibition by authority.
"Her father forbade her to attend the late-night gatherings in the village square."
"The school strictly forbade students from using phones during examinations."
"By ancient custom, the elders forbade any stranger to enter the sacred grove after dusk."
This irregular verb has two officially accepted past tenses — "forbade" and "forbad" — and neither one sounds quite like "forbided," because that form simply doesn't exist.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of forbade
"Forbade" comes from the verb "forbid," which derives from Old English "forbeodan," formed from the prefix "for-" (indicating prohibition or restraint) combined with "beodan," meaning to command or proclaim. The root "beodan" traces back to the Proto-Germanic verb *beudanan, which also produced the modern English verbs "bid" and "bode." Because of this Germanic heritage, the verb developed irregular past-tense forms rather than following the regular -ed pattern, yielding both "forbade" and the variant "forbad."
Related word forms
How forbade is actually used
"Forbade" is somewhat formal or literary in tone compared with everyday alternatives like "didn't allow." Note its unusual conjugation: unlike most verbs ending in -id/-ade patterns it follows "forbid" → "forbade" (or "forbad") → "forbidden," which learners often find counterintuitive.
Easily confused with forbade
"Forbid" is the base form of the verb used in present-tense and infinitive constructions, while "forbade" is its simple past tense.
"Forbad" is simply a variant spelling of the same past tense; both "forbade" and "forbad" are accepted, though "forbade" is more common.