God/heaven forbid
idiom
—used in speech to say that one hopes a bad thing will not happen
This is the number you should call if, God forbid, you should get into an accident.
Heaven forbid that something bad should happen.
Examples of God/heaven forbid in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Satellite trackers like McKnight start sounding the alarm when the probability of a crash reaches 0.001 percent; no one wants to see whole-number or, God forbid, double-digit percentages.
—
Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 14 June 2024
Kate’s overjoyed by the offer, which is a fantastic development for their characters and, presumably, a tidy way to explain things if (God forbid) Bailey and Ashley aren’t available for future seasons of the show.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 13 June 2024
Just get with the guy and have some fun, God forbid.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 17 May 2024
What’s more, a Boeing CEO always has to worry that a Boeing plane will suffer a new accident like the explosion over Portland, or God forbid, a fatal crash.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 29 May 2024
The form travels in one direction, from me to you, offering no path to analysis, critique, or, God forbid, argument.
—Lauren Oyler, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024
Of course, trying can come off as phony when actors start speaking thoughtfully or — God forbid — get emotional.
—Jenelle Riley, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024
One commenter argued, however, that the film’s hot button topicality could backfire if — heaven forbid — real-world violence did occur.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Mar. 2024
This could happen to anyone in the most inappropriate circumstances, such as a heated argument, a private therapy session or, heaven forbid, a video call where a boss is laying off workers.
—David Phelan, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 14 June 2024
Kate’s overjoyed by the offer, which is a fantastic development for their characters and, presumably, a tidy way to explain things if (God forbid) Bailey and Ashley aren’t available for future seasons of the show.
—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 13 June 2024
Just get with the guy and have some fun, God forbid.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 17 May 2024
What’s more, a Boeing CEO always has to worry that a Boeing plane will suffer a new accident like the explosion over Portland, or God forbid, a fatal crash.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 29 May 2024
The form travels in one direction, from me to you, offering no path to analysis, critique, or, God forbid, argument.
—Lauren Oyler, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024
Of course, trying can come off as phony when actors start speaking thoughtfully or — God forbid — get emotional.
—Jenelle Riley, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024
One commenter argued, however, that the film’s hot button topicality could backfire if — heaven forbid — real-world violence did occur.
—James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Mar. 2024
This could happen to anyone in the most inappropriate circumstances, such as a heated argument, a private therapy session or, heaven forbid, a video call where a boss is laying off workers.
—David Phelan, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'God/heaven forbid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near God/heaven forbid
Cite this Entry
“God/heaven forbid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/God%2Fheaven%20forbid. Accessed 28 Jun. 2024.
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