Ban tends to have a legal
significance. Forbid and prohibit are more general, though prohibit is more formal.
When you forbid something, you refuse to allow it. You might have heard your
parents say things like, "I forbid
you to play ball in the house!" or "I forbid you to have any more parties when we're not home!"
Forbid comes from the Old English word forbeodan, meaning "forbid, prohibit." Forbid can also mean "prevent" or "keep from happening." The spare tire on your car will forbid you from driving any faster than 40 miles an hour – any faster and the car will shake. You may have heard forbid used in the expression "God forbid . . ." This refers to something you hope will not happen, so much so that you're asking God for a little help.
If a sign says "Swimming Prohibited," don't go for a dip. It's not allowed. To prohibit is to forbid, or to disallow something.
In school, you are prohibited from leaving the premises before the end of the school day. The school administration also prohibits smoking and chewing gum. In 1920, it became illegal to sell alcohol in the United States. This time period when alcohol was prohibited is known as the era of Prohibition. Famously Prohibition did not work. When you prohibit something, you often make it seem more appealing.
The verb to ban means to forbid something from being or happening; the word can also be used as a noun. A school board might put a ban on all books that referred to Jefferson's mistress if they didn't want anyone reading about her.
If your parents are upset by how much time you spend surfing the net, they might ban all computers in the house. To ban something is to put a ban on it. Something with a ban on it is said to be banned. At the height of the disco craze, radio DJs banned all disco records. To get listeners to join their ban, they encouraged them to destroy their disco records in public.
Forbid comes from the Old English word forbeodan, meaning "forbid, prohibit." Forbid can also mean "prevent" or "keep from happening." The spare tire on your car will forbid you from driving any faster than 40 miles an hour – any faster and the car will shake. You may have heard forbid used in the expression "God forbid . . ." This refers to something you hope will not happen, so much so that you're asking God for a little help.
If a sign says "Swimming Prohibited," don't go for a dip. It's not allowed. To prohibit is to forbid, or to disallow something.
In school, you are prohibited from leaving the premises before the end of the school day. The school administration also prohibits smoking and chewing gum. In 1920, it became illegal to sell alcohol in the United States. This time period when alcohol was prohibited is known as the era of Prohibition. Famously Prohibition did not work. When you prohibit something, you often make it seem more appealing.
The verb to ban means to forbid something from being or happening; the word can also be used as a noun. A school board might put a ban on all books that referred to Jefferson's mistress if they didn't want anyone reading about her.
If your parents are upset by how much time you spend surfing the net, they might ban all computers in the house. To ban something is to put a ban on it. Something with a ban on it is said to be banned. At the height of the disco craze, radio DJs banned all disco records. To get listeners to join their ban, they encouraged them to destroy their disco records in public.
In their definitions relating to
prohibition and exclusion, the verb ban usually applies to things, and bar usually applies to
people. For example, you might ban
chocolate cake from your house and say that anyone caught sneaking in chocolate
cake will be barred
indefinitely. We qualify the distinction with “usually,” however, because
it is not a rule, and exceptions abound. Meanwhile, the two words
are synonyms when applied to actions (so the act of eating chocolate
cake might be either banned or barred), which further blurs the
distinction.
Ban is often used to denote official actions of governments and other
authorities, while barring is more
often unofficial. Also, while ban doubles as a noun, bar does
not. There are so many other noun senses of bar that
using the word as a synonym of prohibition or exclusion might just cause confusion.
In British
English, ban and bar are more closely interchangeable than they are
in American English.
For example, these writers use ban in relation to things or actions:
A number of suspensions for
drinking, fighting and swearing has led Sydney Academy to ban dances next year. [CBC]
Our children’s school
has now banned tree climbing. [Telegraph]
Many young adults
dislike abortion and are receptive toward pro-life arguments, but feel
uncomfortable with banning abortion entirely. [National Review Online]
And these writers use bar in relation to people or actions:
However, a race in South Africa has
led to the AAA barring him from the event. [Guardian]
Legislation to bar
those convicted of crimes from serving on school boards and requiring board
members to undergo criminal checks has been signed into law. [Star-Ledger]
School rector Father
Paul Martin has barred Keith from attending because school policy does not
allow “old boys”… [Stuff.co.nz]
