Meaning & use
verboten
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Meaning
adjectiveafter a verbhumorous
Not allowed, because of a rule or because the group you belong to strongly disapproves.
Grammar: Usually follows be: phones are verboten here. It is rarely placed before a noun.
Patterns
- be verboten
- something is verboten to someone
In our house, talking about spoilers is strictly verboten.
Sweets before dinner were verboten when I was a child.
Using the boss's parking space is verboten, and everyone knows it.
Common combinations
- strictly verboten
- Smoking in the lab is strictly verboten.
- is verboten
- Wearing sneakers to the ceremony is verboten.
- considered verboten
- Talking politics at dinner was considered verboten.
- completely verboten
- Cell phones are completely verboten during the exam.
Synonyms and how they differ
- forbidden
- Forbidden is the plain, neutral word, while verboten adds a playful or slightly dramatic tone.
- banned
- Banned implies an official decision by an authority, whereas verboten can describe an unwritten rule.
- taboo
- Taboo points to something society avoids for cultural or moral reasons, which is heavier than the often joking verboten.
- off-limits
- Off-limits suggests a place or topic that people may not enter or mention, so it is more about access than a general ban.
Opposites
Word family
- verbot noun
- German word for a prohibition, rarely seen in English
Commonly confused: verboten or forbidden?
verboten vs forbidden
Forbidden is fully English and neutral in tone. Verboten is borrowed from German and is used for effect.
Practice
At my grandmother's table, checking a phone during dinner was absolutely ___.
Choose one answer.
Verboten means strictly not allowed. Verbose, versatile and verbal look similar but describe wordiness, flexibility and speech, none of which fit a rule against phones.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “verboten”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.