different between forbid vs deny

English

Etymology

From Middle English forbeden, from Old English forb?odan (“to forbid, prohibit, restrain, refuse, repeal, annul”), from Proto-Germanic *furibeudan?, from *furi + *beudan?. 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 ???????????????????????????????????????? (faurbiudan). Related to forbode.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /f??b?d/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /f??b?d/
• Rhymes: -?d

Verb

forbid (third-person singular simple present forbids, present participle forbidding, simple past forbid or forbade or forbad, past participle forbidden)

1. (transitive) To disallow; to proscribe.
   • 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

     […] 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.

2. (ditransitive) To deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command.
3. (transitive) To oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command.

   • a blaze of glory that forbids the sight

4. (transitive, obsolete) To accurse; to blast.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To defy; to challenge.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of L. Andrews to this entry?)

Usage notes

• Especially when talking about a person, the expression is not allowed to is much more common than the very formal is forbidden to/is forbidden from.
• This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive or the gerund (-ing) when the person is mentioned from whom something is forbidden, and it takes the gerund (-ing) when such a person is not mentioned. See Appendix:English catenative verbs. Examples:
  • The management forbids employees from smoking/to smoke in the office. (Active; those subject to prohibition are identified)
  • Employees are forbidden from smoking/to smoke in the office. (Passive; those subject to prohibition are identified)
  • The management forbids smoking in the office. (Active; those subject to prohibition are not identified)
  • Smoking in the office is forbidden. (Passive; those subject to prohibition are not identified)

Synonyms

• prohibit
• disallow
• ban
• veto
• See also Thesaurus:prohibit

Derived terms

• forbiddance
• forbidding

Translations

References

• forbid in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• forbid in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

English

Etymology

From Middle English denyen, from Old French denoier (“to deny, to repudiate”) (French dénier), from Latin denegare (“to deny, to refuse”), from de- (“away”) and negare (“to refuse”), the latter ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ne (“no, not”). Doublet of denegate.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /d??na?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /d??na?/, /d?-/
• Rhymes: -a?
• Hyphenation: de?ny

Verb

deny (third-person singular simple present denies, present participle denying, simple past and past participle denied)

1. (transitive) To disallow or reject.
2. (transitive) To assert that something is not true.
3. (ditransitive) To refuse to give or grant something to someone.
   • 1754, Jonathan Edwards, An Inquiry into the Modern Prevailing Notions Respecting that Freedom of the Will which is supposed to be Essential to Moral Agency

     To some men, it is more agreeable to deny a vicious inclination, than to gratify it.
4. To take something away from someone; to deprive of.
5. (sports, transitive) To prevent from scoring.
6. To disclaim connection with, responsibility for, etc.; to refuse to acknowledge; to disown; to abjure; to disavow.
   • 1834-1874, George Bancroft, History of the United States, from the Discovery of the American Continent.

     the falsehood of denying his opinion

   • 1827, John Keble, The Christian Year

     thou thrice denied, yet thrice beloved

7. (obsolete) To refuse (to do or accept something).

Usage notes

• This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing). See Appendix:English catenative verbs.
• Deny can have a connotation that the denial is false; he denied knowing the accused has a more suspicious tone than he said he did not know the accused. However, in some formal usages, e.g. medical records, it can have a more neutral sense (patient denies chest pain).
• See refute.

Conjugation

Synonyms

• (assert something is not true): gainsay, contradict, withsay, refute, disclaim

Antonyms

• (disallow): allow
• (assert something is true): confirm, affirm

Derived terms

• deniability
• denier
• justice delayed is justice denied

Related terms

• denial

Translations

Anagrams

• E.D.N.Y., Ynde, dyne