forbear

for·bear

Use forbear in a sentence

verb

Forbear is defined as to stop yourself from doing something.

An example of forbear is when you stop yourself from eating chocolate.

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"forbear." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/forbear>.

APA Style

forbear. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/forbear

forbear

transitive verb

-·bore′ or Archaic-·bare′, -·borne′, -·bear′ing

to refrain from; avoid or cease (doing, saying, etc.)
Now Chiefly Dial. to endure; tolerate

Origin of forbear

Middle English forberen from Old English forberan: see for- and bear

to refrain or abstain
to keep oneself in check; control oneself under provocation

alt. sp. of forebear

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MLA Style

"forbear." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/forbear>.

APA Style

forbear. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/forbear

forbear

verb

for·bore, for·borne, for·bear·ing, for·bears

verb

intransitive

To keep oneself from doing something; hold back; refrain: forbear from making a comment.
To be tolerant or patient in the face of provocation.

verb

transitive

To refrain from; resist: forbore criticizing them.
To restrain oneself so as not (to do something): “He saw that she was preoccupied, and forbore to question her” ( Thomas Hardy )

Origin of forbear

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

Related Forms:

for·bear′er
noun

noun

Variant of forebear

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"forbear." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/forbear>.

APA Style

forbear. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/forbear

Verb

(third-person singular simple present forbears, present participle forbearing, simple past forbore, past participle forborne)

To keep away from; to avoid; to abstain from; to give up.
(intransitive) To refrain from proceeding; to pause; to delay.
(intransitive) To refuse; to decline; to give no heed.
(intransitive) To control oneself when provoked.

Related terms

Origin

From Middle English forberen, from Old English forberan (“to forbear, abstain from, refrain; suffer, endure, tolerate, humor; restrain; do without”), from Proto-Germanic *fraberaną (“to hold back, endure”), equivalent to for- +‎ bear. Cognate with Old Frisian forbera (“to forfeit”), Middle High German verbërn (“to have not; abstain; refrain from; avoid”), Gothic [script?] (frabairan, “to endure”). [script?]

Noun

(plural forbears)