What does proscribing mean?
Proscribing means formally forbidding something or preventing it from being done. The word is especially associated with laws, regulations, and official rules: a government may proscribe the sale of a substance, an institution may proscribe certain conduct, or a constitution may proscribe discrimination. Its tone is authoritative and formal, suggesting more than an ordinary personal preference or informal “no.” In another, historically important sense, proscribing means declaring someone or something legally excluded, historically from a community or public protection. The related word prescribe can sound similar but has a different direction: to prescribe something is generally to authorize, recommend, or direct it, whereas to proscribe it is to forbid it. Proscribing is therefore useful when describing restrictions that carry official or institutional force.
To forbid or prohibit something, especially by law or official authority.
"The new regulations proscribe smoking in all public buildings."
Formal; especially common in legal, governmental, and institutional contexts.
To formally exclude someone or something from a community, status, or legal protection.
"The citizens were proscribed by the authorities after the rebellion."
This sense is historical and legal, and is less common in everyday modern usage.
Proscribing turns prohibition into an official act: it is the language of laws, rules, and formal bans.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does proscribing come from?
The word comes from Latin proscribere, formed from pro- and scribere, meaning “to write publicly” or “post.” In Latin, the verb developed the meaning of formally prohibiting or declaring someone outside the protection of the law. English borrowed the word in the late 16th century, initially in the legal sense of exclusion from citizenship or legal protection; it later broadened to mean prohibit or forbid.
Related word forms
How proscribing is actually used
Proscribing is formal and is especially common in legal, governmental, and institutional contexts. It is more emphatic and formal than simply saying that something is forbidden.
Easily confused with proscribing
Proscribing means forbidding or barring something, whereas prescribing can mean officially recommending or directing it, as when a doctor prescribes medication.