forbear

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Related to forbears: forebears

forbear

refrain or abstain from; to forgo: I’ll forbear the dessert, thank you.

Not to be confused with:

forebear – ancestor; forefather; progenitor: My forbears came over on the Mayflower.

for·bear¹

(fôr-bâr′)

v. for·bore (-bôr′), for·borne (-bôrn′), for·bear·ing, for·bears

v.intr.

1. To keep oneself from doing something; hold back; refrain: forbear from making a comment.

2. To be tolerant or patient in the face of provocation.

v.tr.

1. To refrain from; resist: forbore criticizing them.

2. To restrain oneself so as not (to do something): "He saw that she was preoccupied, and forbore to question her" (Thomas Hardy).

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

for·bear′er n.

for·bear²

(fôr′bâr′)

Variant of forebear.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

forbear

(fɔːˈbɛə)

vb, -bears, -bearing, -bore or -borne

1. (when: intr, often foll by from or an infinitive) to cease or refrain (from doing something)

2. archaic to tolerate or endure (misbehaviour, mistakes, etc)

[Old English forberan; related to Gothic frabairan to endure]

forˈbearer n

forˈbearingly adv

forbear

(ˈfɔːˌbɛə)

a variant spelling of forebear

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

for•bear¹

(fɔrˈbɛər)

v. -bore, -borne, -bear•ing. v.t.

1. to refrain or abstain from; desist from.

2. Obs. to avoid; shun.

3. Obs. to endure.

v.i.

4. to refrain; hold back.

5. to be patient or self-controlled when subject to annoyance or provocation.

[before 900]

for•bear′er, n.

for•bear²

(ˈfɔrˌbɛər)

n.

forebear.

forbear

Past participle: forborne
Gerund: forbearing

Imperative
forbear
forbear

Present
I forbear
you forbear
he/she/it forbears
we forbear
you forbear
they forbear

Preterite
I forbore
you forbore
he/she/it forbore
we forbore
you forbore
they forbore

Present Continuous
I am forbearing
you are forbearing
he/she/it is forbearing
we are forbearing
you are forbearing
they are forbearing

Present Perfect
I have forborne
you have forborne
he/she/it has forborne
we have forborne
you have forborne
they have forborne

Past Continuous
I was forbearing
you were forbearing
he/she/it was forbearing
we were forbearing
you were forbearing
they were forbearing

Past Perfect
I had forborne
you had forborne
he/she/it had forborne
we had forborne
you had forborne
they had forborne

Future
I will forbear
you will forbear
he/she/it will forbear
we will forbear
you will forbear
they will forbear

Future Perfect
I will have forborne
you will have forborne
he/she/it will have forborne
we will have forborne
you will have forborne
they will have forborne

Future Continuous
I will be forbearing
you will be forbearing
he/she/it will be forbearing
we will be forbearing
you will be forbearing
they will be forbearing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been forbearing
you have been forbearing
he/she/it has been forbearing
we have been forbearing
you have been forbearing
they have been forbearing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been forbearing
you will have been forbearing
he/she/it will have been forbearing
we will have been forbearing
you will have been forbearing
they will have been forbearing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been forbearing
you had been forbearing
he/she/it had been forbearing
we had been forbearing
you had been forbearing
they had been forbearing

Conditional
I would forbear
you would forbear
he/she/it would forbear
we would forbear
you would forbear
they would forbear

Past Conditional
I would have forborne
you would have forborne
he/she/it would have forborne
we would have forborne
you would have forborne
they would have forborne

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	forbear - a person from whom you are descended forebear ancestor, antecedent, ascendant, ascendent, root - someone from whom you are descended (but usually more remote than a grandparent) grandparent - a parent of your father or mother great grandparent - a parent of your grandparent
Verb	1.	forbear - refrain from doing; "she forbore a snicker" hold back refrain, forbear - resist doing something; "He refrained from hitting him back"; "she could not forbear weeping"
	2.	forbear - resist doing something; "He refrained from hitting him back"; "she could not forbear weeping" refrain leave alone, leave behind, leave - leave unchanged or undisturbed or refrain from taking; "leave it as is"; "leave the young fawn alone"; "leave the flowers that you see in the park behind" let it go - not act; "He thought of a reply but let it go" abstain - refrain from voting spare, save - refrain from harming forbear, hold back - refrain from doing; "she forbore a snicker" help oneself, help - abstain from doing; always used with a negative; "I can't help myself--I have to smoke"; "She could not help watching the sad spectacle" stand by - not act or do anything; "He just stood by when the police beat up the demonstrators" sit out - not participate in (an activity, such as a dance or a sports event); "He sat out the game"

forbear

verb refrain, avoid, omit, hold back, stop, decline, pause, cease, withhold, abstain, eschew, keep from, resist the temptation to, desist, restrain yourself I forbore to comment on this.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

forbear

verb

To hold oneself back:

abstain, hold off, keep, refrain, withhold.

Translations

antenato avo

forbear

[fɔːˈbɛəʳ] (forbore (pt) (forborne (pp))) VI → contenerse
to forbear to do sth → abstenerse de hacer algo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

forbear

[fɔː^rˈbɛə^r] vi
to forbear to do sth → s'abstenir de faire qch
to forbear from sth → s'abstenir de qch

forbear

¹ pret <forbore>, ptp <forborne> (form)

vi I forbore from expressing my opinion → ich verzichtete darauf or nahm Abstand davon, meine Meinung zu äußern; we begged him to forbear → wir baten ihn, darauf zu verzichten

vt he forbore to make any comment → er enthielt sich jeden Kommentars

forbear

n (form) → Vorfahr(in) m(f), → Ahn(e) m, → Ahne f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

forbear

[fɔːˈbɛəʳ] (forbore (pt) (forborne (pp))) vi to forbear from doing, to forbear to do → astenersi dal fare

References in classic literature ?

.signifying renewal as well as change for I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forbears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.

And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forbears fought are still at issue around the globe.

View in context

Little Walter's father was a kindly Scots lawyer, but he came of a good old Border family, "A hardy race who never shrunk from war."* Among his forbears had been wild moss-troopers and cattle-reivers, lairds of their own lands, as powerful as kings in their own countryside.

At other times Walter listened to the stories of his grandmother, hearing all about the wild doings of his forbears, or the brave deeds of Bruce and Wallace.

View in context

Miller, I had indeed to go campaigning before, but I was barbed from counter to tail, and a man went along to groom me; and now I cannot understand what ailed me to prefer the mill before the battle." "Forbear," said the Miller to him, "harping on what was of yore, for it is the common lot of mortals to sustain the ups and downs of fortune."

View in context

But I forbear to dwell any longer on a matter which has hitherto worn too loose a garb to admit even of an accurate inspection of its real shape or tendency.

It has been very properly observed by different speakers and writers on the side of the Constitution, that if the exercise of the power of internal taxation by the Union should be discovered on experiment to be really inconvenient, the federal government may then forbear the use of it, and have recourse to requisitions in its stead.

View in context

Some forbear it, not upon negligence alone, but doubting to bring themselves into melancholy, in respect they shall find it broken.

View in context

Miss Bridget did not, however, suffer her to continue long in this doubtful situation; for having looked some time earnestly at the child, as it lay asleep in the lap of Mrs Deborah, the good lady could not forbear giving it a hearty kiss, at the same time declaring herself wonderfully pleased with its beauty and innocence.

View in context

He mentioned it in a very artful manner at council, where I was told that some of the wisest appeared, at least by their silence, to be of my opinion; but others, who were my secret enemies, could not forbear some expressions which, by a side-wind, reflected on me.

View in context

At last Robin could no longer forbear, and his good right arm swung round like a flash.

View in context

It is not easy to forbear reflecting with how little reason these men profess themselves the followers of Jesus, who left this great characteristic to His disciples, that they should be known by loving one another, by universal and unbounded charity and benevolence.

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