forborne
Definition
- Verb (past participle of ):
- To refrain from doing something: "forborne" means having held back or stopped oneself from acting, speaking, or pursuing an action, especially when one has the power or impulse to do so.
- To show patience or tolerance: It can also mean having endured or waited without complaint, especially under provocation.
Usage Examples
- Refraining from action:
- She had forborne from criticizing his work, despite her frustration. (She deliberately chose not to criticize.)
- The committee has forborne making a decision until more evidence is available. (They have postponed or avoided deciding.)
- Showing patience:
- He forborne his anger during the heated argument. (He controlled his temper and remained calm.)
Advanced Usage
- "to have forborne": indicates a completed action of restraint in the past.
- Having forborne from speaking, she listened carefully. (After choosing not to speak, she listened.)
- "forborne from": commonly used with "from" to specify the action avoided.
- They forborne from retaliating against the insult. (They chose not to take revenge.)
Variants and Related Words
- Forbear (verb, base form): to refrain or be patient.
- I will forbear from commenting on that matter. (I will not comment.)
- Forbearance (noun): the quality of being patient or self-controlled; restraint.
- His forbearance in the face of provocation was admirable. (His patience was praiseworthy.)
- Forbearing (adjective): showing patience and restraint.
- She is a forbearing teacher who never loses her temper. (She is tolerant and calm.)
Synonyms
- Refrained from: held back from doing something.
- Abstained from: deliberately avoided an action, especially one considered wrong or unwise.
- Desisted from: stopped or ceased an action.
- Endured: tolerated or suffered patiently.
Phrasal Verbs
- Forbear from: the most common phrasal structure, used to indicate the action avoided.
- He forbore from laughing at the joke. (He stopped himself from laughing.)
Related Idioms
- "To hold one's tongue": to refrain from speaking, similar in meaning to "forborne from speaking."
- She held her tongue despite wanting to argue. (She forbore from speaking.)
- "To bite one's lip": to suppress an emotional reaction, especially anger or laughter.
- He bit his lip to avoid shouting. (He forbore from shouting.)