taboo 1 of 2

variants also tabu

taboo

2 of 2

noun

variants also tabu

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of taboo
Adjective
Rosa told the Statesman that legal malpractice is a taboo subject in the Idaho State Bar. Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 12 Mar. 2025 The goal is to create an inviting, safe space to share the heartfelt experience of diving into a taboo topic which unites everyone. Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2025
Noun
In December, Ars reported on the military's growing willingness to talk publicly about offensive space weapons, something US officials long considered taboo for fear of sparking a cosmic arms race. Ars Technica, 13 Mar. 2025 The play explore themes of family secrets and morality, and is rooted in plot lines that are still considered taboo more than a century after it was first performed. Kristen Tauer, WWD, 10 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for taboo
Recent Examples of Synonyms for taboo
Adjective
  • Thompson, Ha and Brownell also say that Season 4 will dive much more into the Regency era’s upstairs-downstairs class politics than previous seasons, due to Sophie being of a lower class than Benedict and the Bridgerton family, as well as the fairytale and forbidden love tropes.
    Jennifer Maas, Variety, 14 Feb. 2025
  • The clever canine is captured standing frozen, waiting for the all clear, before attempting to climb onto a forbidden couch in a post to the platform by @maltimasi_ on January 30.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • According to a memo from the General Services Administration dated Feb. 15 and reported this week by NPR, the Trump administration is no longer requiring explicit prohibitions on segregated facilities in new government contracts.
    Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY, 21 Mar. 2025
  • In the mid-2010s, the emergence of daily fantasy sports offered further evidence that a prohibition on legalized gambling was not working.
    Made by History, TIME, 20 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The very thought of reducing government spending is anathema to progressives.
    Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 20 Mar. 2025
  • While tariffs are anathema to plenty of Republicans who preach the gospel of unfettered markets, Paul is one of the only members of Congress currently speaking out against them.
    Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The list of prohibited and restricted items, as found on the CBP website, includes alcohol, biological materials, firearms, food and produce such as fruits and vegetables, soil, wildlife, fish, and gold, among other items.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025
  • For example, Customs and Border Protection in the United States maintains a list of prohibited and restricted items for anyone entering the US and links to other departments if permits are required.
    Erica Kasper, WIRED, 21 Aug. 2024
Noun
  • Multiples of the same person are a huge no-no, so 18 first tries to kill 17, but the Mickeys have to work together when the expedition’s banally evil leader, talk-show host/wannabe dictator Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), wants to exterminate them along with the Creepers.
    Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Of course, there are movies being made with subjects that have some say in how the story is told or are getting paid for the access, which to me is a no-no, and gets to be a producer of their own story.
    Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 5 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • And that’s not even getting into the AI abomination that this movie does to the soul (and visage) of the late Ian Holm. 46.
    Joe Reid, Vulture, 28 Feb. 2025
  • City Council members and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams are calling the NYPD’s gang database a civil rights abomination that must be obliterated.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • View Comments One of the worst bouts of stagflation happened in the 1970s after a spike in oil prices from the Arab oil embargo on the US and other countries that supported Israel in the 1973 Yom Kippur War raised the cost of living dramatically.
    Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 20 Mar. 2025
  • The first social media reactions from audiences will drop at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 15, while the review embargo for critics is lifted Wednesday, March 19, at 3 p.m. ET.
    Jen Juneau, People.com, 14 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Everyone knows what a perversion fragmenting the Taj Mahal would be.
    Ralph Leonard, The Atlantic, 4 Feb. 2025
  • Clark, instead, memorializes Black Twitter, hoping to prevent further perversion of Black innovation, Black language, culture and style.
    J Wortham, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Taboo.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taboo. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on taboo

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!