inhibitions

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Feelings of shyness or embarrassment that stop you from behaving freely and naturally.

   Grammar: Used in the plural to talk about a person's general shyness or self-consciousness; the singular 'inhibition' means one such feeling.

   Patterns

   • lose your inhibitions
   • have no inhibitions
   • without inhibitions

   After a couple of drinks, he lost his inhibitions and started dancing.

   Children often show no inhibitions until they become self-conscious.

   Her inhibitions disappeared once she felt safe among friends.

2. 2nouncountable

   A feeling that makes you unwilling to do something because it seems wrong or improper.

   Grammar: Countable here: you can talk about 'an inhibition' or 'inhibitions' about a particular action.

   Patterns

   • an inhibition about something
   • overcome your inhibitions
   • have inhibitions about doing something

   He had no inhibitions about asking for a raise.

   She overcame her inhibitions and spoke in front of the class.

   There is still an inhibition about discussing money openly.

3. 3nouncountable or uncountabletechnicalbiology

   In biology, a slowing down or blocking of a process, such as a nerve signal or a chemical reaction.

   Grammar: Technical use; often followed by 'of': inhibition of an enzyme.

   Patterns

   • inhibition of something
   • enzyme inhibition
   • nerve inhibition

   The drug works by inhibition of a key enzyme.

   Researchers studied the inhibition of nerve signals in the spinal cord.

   This type of inhibition prevents the reaction from happening too quickly.

Word forms

Common combinations

lose your inhibitions

He lost his inhibitions and sang karaoke.

no inhibitions

She has no inhibitions about speaking her mind.

overcome your inhibitions

It took years to overcome his inhibitions.

without inhibitions

The children played without inhibitions.

inhibition about

He has an inhibition about public speaking.

Synonyms and how they differ

shyness

Shyness is a general personality trait; inhibitions are specific feelings that hold you back in certain situations.

reserve

Reserve suggests a quiet, controlled manner; inhibitions suggest an inner block that stops you from acting freely.

restraint

Restraint is often deliberate self-control; inhibitions are more automatic and emotional.

Opposites

Word family

inhibit verb

To prevent or slow down a process or action.

inhibited adjective

Unable to behave naturally because of shyness or fear.

inhibitor noun

A substance that slows down a chemical reaction.

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “inhibitions”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words