Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,752,097,388 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

forbear

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
for·bear 1  (fôr-bâr)
v. for·bore (-bôr, -br), for·borne (-bôrn, -brn), for·bear·ing, for·bears
v.tr.
1. To refrain from; resist: forbear replying. See Synonyms at refrain1.
2. To desist from; cease.
3. Obsolete To avoid or shun.
v.intr.
1. To hold back; refrain.
2. To be tolerant or patient in the face of provocation.

[Middle English forberen, from Old English forberan, to endure; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots.]

for·bearer n.

for·bear 2  (fôrbâr, fr-)
n.
Variant of forebear.

forbear1
vb -bears, -bearing, -bore, -borne
1. (when intr, often foll by from or an infinitive) to cease or refrain (from doing something)
2. Archaic to tolerate or endure (misbehaviour, mistakes, etc.)
[Old English forberan; related to Gothic frabairan to endure]
forbearer  n
forbearingly  adv

forbear2
n
a variant spelling of forebear
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.forbear - a person from whom you are descended
ancestor, antecedent, ascendant, ascendent, root - someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent)
grandparent - a parent of your father or mother
great grandparent - a parent of your grandparent
Verb1.forbear - refrain from doing; "she forbore a snicker"
refrain, forbear - resist doing something; "He refrained from hitting him back"; "she could not forbear weeping"
2.forbear - resist doing something; "He refrained from hitting him back"; "she could not forbear weeping"
leave alone, leave behind, leave - leave unchanged or undisturbed or refrain from taking; "leave it as is"; "leave the young fawn alone"; "leave the flowers that you see in the park behind"
let it go - not act; "He thought of a reply but let it go"
abstain - refrain from voting
spare, save - refrain from harming
forbear, hold back - refrain from doing; "she forbore a snicker"
help oneself, help - abstain from doing; always used with a negative; "I can't help myself--I have to smoke"; "She could not help watching the sad spectacle"
stand by - not act or do anything; "He just stood by when the police beat up the demonstrators"
sit out - not participate in (an activity, such as a dance or a sports event); "He sat out the game"

forbear
verb refrain, avoid, omit, hold back, stop, decline, pause, cease, withhold, abstain, eschew, keep from, resist the temptation to, desist, restrain yourself I forbore to comment on this.
Translations
forbear [fɔːˈbɛəʳ] (forbore (pt) (forborne (pp))) VIcontenerse
to forbear to do sthabstenerse de hacer algo
forbear [fɔːrˈbɛər] vi
to forbear to do sth → s'abstenir de faire qch
to forbear from sth → s'abstenir de qch
forbear1 pret <forbore>, ptp <forborne> (form)
vi I forbore from expressing my opinionich verzichtete darauf or nahm Abstand davon, meine Meinung zu äußern; we begged him to forbearwir baten ihn, darauf zu verzichten
vt he forbore to make any commenter enthielt sich jeden Kommentars

forbear2
n (form)Vorfahr(in) m(f), → Ahn(e) m, → Ahne f
forbear [fɔːˈbɛəʳ] (forbore (pt) (forborne (pp))) vi to forbear from doing, to forbear to doastenersi dal fare
forbear [fɔːˈbɛəʳ] (forbore (pt) (forborne (pp))) vi to forbear from doing, to forbear to doastenersi dal fare


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Miss Bridget did not, however, suffer her to continue long in this doubtful situation; for having looked some time earnestly at the child, as it lay asleep in the lap of Mrs Deborah, the good lady could not forbear giving it a hearty kiss, at the same time declaring herself wonderfully pleased with its beauty and innocence.
Some forbear it, not upon negligence alone, but doubting to bring themselves into melancholy, in respect they shall find it broken.
It is not easy to forbear reflecting with how little reason these men profess themselves the followers of Jesus, who left this great characteristic to His disciples, that they should be known by loving one another, by universal and unbounded charity and benevolence.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a Terms of Use.