forbear

1 of 2

verb

for·​bear fȯr-ˈber 

fər-

forbore fȯr-ˈbȯr 

fər-

; forborne fȯr-ˈbȯrn 

fər-

; forbearing

transitive verb

1

: to hold oneself back from especially with an effort

forbore mentioning the incident

tried to forbear making rash judgments

2

obsolete : to do without

3

obsolete : to leave alone : shun

forbear his presence

—William Shakespeare

intransitive verb

1

: hold back, abstain

have forborne from taking part in any controversy

—Abraham Lincoln

2

: to control oneself when provoked : be patient

forbore with his friend's failings

forbearer noun

forbear

2 of 2

noun

for·​bear

less common spelling of forebear

: ancestor, forefather

also : precursor

—usually used in plural

His forebears fought in the American Civil War.

Synonyms

Verb

• abjure
• abstain (from)
• forgo
• forego
• keep (from)
• refrain (from)
• withhold (from)

Examples of forbear in a Sentence

Verb

He carefully forbore any mention of her name for fear of upsetting them.

We decided to forbear provoking him any further.

We decided to forbear from provoking him any further.

He forebore to mention her name.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The Commission has never reversed a decision to forbear in this situation. —Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 8 Apr. 2024

Tuesday’s proposal makes the same commitment, the people said, forbearing from 26 provisions of Title II and more than 700 other agency rules that could be seen as intrusive. —Brian Fung, CNN, 26 Sep. 2023

The limitation of unanimous consent agreements is that on matters of controversy, senators are not going to mutually agree to forbear. —Jay Cost, Washington Examiner, 29 Apr. 2021

So, if a person is enacting their right to resistance, then bystanders have an obligation to forbear and not to interfere. —TheWeek, 12 Apr. 2020

But crucially, the FCC did not forbear from a few parts of Title II that protect consumers in other ways. —Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica, 12 July 2017

Noun

Yet, the era of social media and podcasts has expanded their reach in ways their forbears could only have dreamed of. —Theresa Iker / Made By History, TIME, 12 Dec. 2024

As with its forbear, a five-speed stick controlled all that, with the power reaching the road through the rear wheels. —Will Sabel Courtney, Robb Report, 11 Dec. 2024

Busta paid much homage to musical forbears, including reggae legends like Lieutenant Stitchie and Shabba Ranks, and clocked the historical importance of the music of Memphis. —Rolling Stone, 23 Nov. 2024

One deployment of these colors that would have shocked our design forbears is in the kitchen. —Emily Evans Eerdmans, Architectural Digest, 23 July 2024

The area where today’s GOP would be most recognizable to its Reaganite forbears is in the domain of cultural and moral conservatism. —Matthew Wilson, Orange County Register, 21 July 2024

To our 17th-century forbears, history was nearing its close. —Martin Rees, TIME, 24 Apr. 2024

That is, unless an actor’s forbears happened to be named Tiffany, Cartier or Boucheron. —Guy Trebay, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024

This feels, to many European Jews, like the same blindness or insouciance that allowed millions of their forbears to be sent to Nazi camps to be gassed. —Roger Cohen, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English forberen, from Old English forberan to endure, do without, from for- + beran to bear

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Kids Definition

forbear

1 of 2 verb

for·​bear fȯr-ˈba(ə)r 

fər-,

-ˈbe(ə)r

forbore -ˈbō(ə)r 

-ˈbȯ(ə)r

; forborne -ˈbō(ə)rn 

-ˈbȯ(ə)rn

; forbearing

1

: to hold back or keep from : abstain

2

: to be patient when annoyed

forbearer noun

forbear

2 of 2

variant of forebear