Meaning & use
forbear
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Meanings
verbintransitiveformal
To hold yourself back from doing something that you could do or have a right to do, usually out of patience or good manners.
Grammar: Often followed by from plus an -ing verb: forbear from replying.
Patterns
- forbear from doing something
- forbear to do something
She wanted to argue, but she forbore from saying anything in front of the guests.
The judge urged both sides to forbear until the facts were clear.
Please forbear from using your phones during the performance.
verbtransitive or intransitiveliteraryold-fashioned
To put up with something annoying or hurtful patiently, without anger or complaint.
Grammar: Takes an object only in older or very formal writing: forbear the insult.
Patterns
- forbear with someone
The old teacher forbore the students' constant interruptions with a smile.
He asked his neighbors to forbear a little longer while the roof was repaired.
A good friend will forbear your bad moods.
nounusually pluralformal
An ancestor, usually one from several generations back; a spelling variant of forebear.
Grammar: Used mostly in the plural, as in our forbears.
Patterns
- the forbears of someone
Her forbears came to America from Norway in the 1880s.
He told stories about his forbears who farmed this valley.
The family honored the forbears who had built the mill.
Word forms
| third person singular | forbears |
|---|---|
| past tense | forbore |
| past participle | forborne |
| -ing form | forbearing |
Common combinations
- forbear from commenting
- The coach chose to forbear from commenting on the referee.
- forbear to ask
- He forbore to ask where she had been.
- forbear from criticizing
- Critics were asked to forbear from criticizing the new plan until it was tested.
- kindly forbear
- Readers are asked to kindly forbear if the text contains small errors.
- our forbears
- Our forbears worked hard to build this community.
Synonyms and how they differ
- refrain
- Refrain is the common word for holding back and fits everyday notices, while forbear sounds more formal and suggests patient self-control.
- abstain
- Abstain suggests deliberately avoiding something such as a vote or a habit, whereas forbear stresses restraint in a moment.
- hold back
- Hold back is plainer and can describe physical or emotional restraint, while forbear is polite and formal.
- tolerate
- Tolerate is about putting up with something unwelcome, whereas forbear can also mean choosing not to do something.
Opposites
Word family
- forbearance noun
- patient self-control, or a willingness to be lenient
- forbearing adjective
- patient and tolerant
- forbearingly adverb
- in a patient, tolerant way
- forebear noun
- an ancestor, a different but related spelling
Commonly confused: forbear or forebear? forbear or forbid?
forbear vs forebear
Forebear (with an e) means an ancestor; forbear as a verb means to hold back, and the two sound alike.
forbear vs forbid
Forbid means to order that something must not be done; forbear means choosing not to do it yourself.
Practice
The mayor asked the crowd to ______ from booing until the speaker had finished.
Choose one answer.
Forbear from doing something means to hold back from it. Forbid takes a different pattern, forgo means to do without, and forecast means to predict.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “forbear”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.