forbidding

[US]/fəˈbɪdɪŋ/
[UK]/fərˈbɪdɪŋ/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

adj. looking severe and threatening; causing fear or dislike

Example Sentences

a grim and forbidding building.

sumptuary laws forbidding gambling.

forbidding storm clouds

taboos forbidding incest

The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.

The emperor issued an edict forbidding doing trade with foreigners.

Parliament has passed an Act forbidding the killing of rare animals.

Parliament has passed an act forbidding the slaughter of animals for pleasure.

The cellar was dark and forbidding; moreover, I knew a family of mice had nested there.

These experiences had not made Jung stern or forbidding, but had given him a puckish sense of humor.

A vast inland bay, the forbidding White Sea takes its name from constant fog, snowbound shores, and from September to May, a surface composed entirely of ice.

Real-world Examples

We had indeed reached a questionable and forbidding neighbourhood.

Source: The Sign of the Four

The kings look forbidding, and have long black ringlets and rippling beards.

Source: A Brief History of the World

But they're about to begin an epic journey north through the bleak and forbidding tundra.

Source: Wild Arctic

The one point that was forbidding about this reddleman was his colour.

Source: Returning Home

In the bright morning light the Chateau d'If stood out black and forbidding.

Source: The Count of Monte Cristo: Selected Edition

On the contrary, her tone was cold and all of a sudden she looked rather forbidding.

Source: 5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

In Spain, law were passed forbidding the use of the Romany lauguage and the wearing of their traditional clothes.

Source: Yilin Edition Oxford High School English (Elective 10)

Today $8 or $10 seems a small amount of money, but at that time these amounts were forbidding to most citizens.

Source: Gaokao Reading Real Questions

Even under a clear blue sky, the village looked forbidding, as all the houses were built of grey mud bricks.

Source: New Concept English. British Edition. Book Three (Translation)

A broad, square-jawed witch with very short grey hair sat on Fudges left; she wore a monocle and looked forbidding.

Source: 5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

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