What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Forbid vs Warn - What's the difference?

forbid | warn |

In lang=en terms the difference between forbid and warn

is that forbid is to oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command while warn is to give warning.

As verbs the difference between forbid and warn

is that forbid is to disallow; to proscribe while warn is to make (someone) aware of impending danger etc or warn can be (label) to refuse, deny (someone something).

forbid

English

Verb

  • To disallow; to proscribe.
  • Smoking in the restaurant is forbidden .
  • * 1908 ,
  • the Mole recollected that animal-etiquette forbade any sort of comment on the sudden disappearance of one's friends at any moment, for any reason or no reason whatever.
  • To deny, exclude from, or warn off, by express command.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Have I not forbid her my house?
  • To oppose, hinder, or prevent, as if by an effectual command.
  • An impassable river forbids the approach of the army.
  • * Dryden
  • a blaze of glory that forbids the sight
  • (obsolete) To accurse; to blast.
  • * Shakespeare
  • He shall live a man forbid .
  • (obsolete) To defy; to challenge.
  • Usage notes

    * This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive'' when the forbidden person is mentioned, and the ''gerund (-ing) otherwise. See . Examples: ** The management forbids employees to smoke in the office. (Active; those subject to prohibition are identified) ** Employees are forbidden to smoke in the office. (Passive; those subject to prohibition are identified) ** The management forbids smoking in the office. (Active; those subject to prohibition are not identified) ** Smoking in the office is forbidden. (Passive; those subject to prohibition are not identified)

    Synonyms

    * prohibit * disallow * ban * veto * See also

    warn

    English

    Etymology 1

    (etyl) warnian, from (etyl) . Cognate with German warnen, Dutch waarnen.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make (someone) aware of impending danger etc.
  • We waved a flag to warn the oncoming traffic.
  • To caution (someone) against unwise or unacceptable behaviour.
  • He was warned against crossing the railway tracks at night.
    Don't let me catch you running in the corridor again, I warn you.
  • To notify (someone) of something untoward.
  • I phoned to warn him of the rail strike.
  • To give warning.
  • * 1526 , William Tyndale, tr. Bible , Galatians II, 9-10:
  • then Iames Cephas and Iohn [...] agreed with vs that we shuld preache amonge the Hethen and they amonge the Iewes: warnynge only that we shulde remember the poore.
  • * 1973 , Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow , Penguin 1995, p. 177:
  • She is his deepest innocence in spaces of bough and hay before wishes were given a different name to warn that they might not come true [...].
  • * 1988 , Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses , Picador 2000, p. 496:
  • She warned that he was seriously thinking of withdrawing his offer to part the waters, ‘so that all you'll get at the Arabian Sea is a saltwater bath [...]’.
  • * 1991 , Clive James, ‘Making Programmes the World Wants’, The Dreaming Swimmer , Jonathan Cape 1992:
  • Every country has its resident experts who warn that imported television will destroy the national consciousness and replace it with Dallas'', ''The Waltons'', ''Star Trek'' and ''Twin Peaks .
    Usage notes
    * The intransitive sense is considered colloquial by some, and is explicitly proscribed by, for example, the Daily Telegraph style guide (which prefers give warning).
    Derived terms
    * warner * warning * warn off

    Etymology 2

    From a combination of (etyl) wiernan (from (etyl) ; compare Swedish varna).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (label) To refuse, deny (someone something).
  • *:
  • *:And yf thou warne' her loue she shalle goo dye anone yf thou haue no pyte on her / that sygnefyeth the grete byrd / the whiche shalle make the to ' warne her