forbid

Related to forbid: God Forbid

God forbid

A phrase invoking God's protection to keep something from happening. Sometimes used sarcastically or hyperbolically. God forbid I get another ticket on my parents' car. I'll be grounded for a month! God forbid that an R-rated film should have anything offensive in it!
See also: forbid, god

heaven forbid

A phrase used to invoke (at least figuratively) a higher power to prevent something that one believes would be tragic if it were to happen. Often used sarcastically. If, heaven forbid, something were to happen to you, you would want to know that your family would be taken care of. Well, heaven forbid people in power actually listen to their constituents! Heaven forbid that poor family has to endure another tragedy.
See also: forbid, heaven
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

God forbid!

 and Heaven forbid!
a phrase expressing the desire that God would forbid the situation that the speaker has just mentioned from ever happening. Tom: It looks like taxes are going up again. Bob: God forbid! Bob: Bill was in a car wreck. I hope he wasn't hurt! Sue: God forbid!
See also: god
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

God forbid

Also, heaven forbid. May God prevent something from happening or being the case. For example, God forbid that they actually encounter a bear, or Heaven forbid that the tornado pulls off the roof. This term, in which heaven also stands for "God," does not necessarily imply a belief in God's direct intervention but merely expresses a strong wish. [c. 1225] For a synonym, see perish the thought.
See also: forbid, god
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

God/Heaven forˈbid (that...)

(also humorous or old use, less frequent Heaven forˈfend (that...)) (spoken) used to say that you hope that something will not happen: ‘Maybe you’ll end up as a lawyer, like me.’ ‘Heaven forbid!’(Some people find this use offensive.)
See also: forbid, god, heaven
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

God/heaven forbid

Let it not happen, or let it not be true. This invocation of the almighty is very old indeed—it dates from the thirteenth century—but, belief in God and heaven no longer being universal, it is no longer used literally. Thus, in such uses as “God forbid that their plane crashes” or “‘Is Dad going hunting next weekend?’ ‘Heaven forbid, Mom’s baby is due then,’” no one is calling for a deity’s intervention. Also see perish the thought.
See also: forbid, god, heaven
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • as far as the eye can see
  • as far as the eye can/could see
  • be a fate worse than death
  • and his mother
  • chain (someone or something) to (something)
  • chain to
  • beat off
References in periodicals archive
We forbid every r-edge of G for r = 0,..., [??][2[n - 2]/[k - 2] - 2][??].
The Erdos-Sos conjecture for geometric graphs
In fact, whoever enjoins good and forbids evil, invites to Allh The Almighty.
Enjoining good and forbidding evil
Third, I would forbid former congressmen and staff from ever lobbying Congress.
The Peters fix
1143/1731) reacts strongly to the previous generation's "puritanical reformism" (the Qadizadeli movement) and he criticizes those who forbid wrong for their own ego-driven reasons.
Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong in Islamic Thought
A call to the Tobacco Control Hotline revealed that a bill currently before the City Council would forbid smoking in all commercial office buildings in New York City.
Mayor mulls office smoking ban
Private groups and individuals can, and regularly do, forbid speech.
The Library Bill of Rights - a critique
In fact, adds one circulation director, a till forbid program could be "the most profitable way" for publishers to maintain circulation.
Magazines test "till forbid" programs
Muhammad Maaz told the police he and his wife, Sumaira, would often forbid their neighbour, Saddam Raza Malik, to stay away from roof of their house while chasing his pigeons.
Woman killed by neighbour over trifle
In the heady days of the late 1960s, when student demonstrations rocked universities throughout the world, French students' slogans included Il est interdit d'interdict (It is forbidden to forbid).
Unbanned
The Koran itself, the Muslim holy book, does not explicitly forbid images of Mohammed.
RED FLAG FOR FAITHFUL
Supreme Court said that under certain narrow circumstances, the "prior restraint" of speech might be allowed--for example, to forbid publication of information about
1971: the Pentagon Papers: when The Times published a secret study of the war in Vietnam, it touched off a constitutional battle with the government. How far does freedom of the press go?
Even the Quran and Hadith do not forbid them from eating in public.
Eating in public in Ramazan
A letter from the congregation instructed Vladimiroff to forbid Chittister to attend and speak at the Women's Ordination Worldwide conference last summer in Dublin because of the 1995 Vatican ban on further discussion of the issue of women's ordination.
A different kind of obedience
He has threatened to hold congressional hearings on the matter and has introduced an amendment to a $290 billion defense bill that would forbid Wiccan worship on military bases.
Georgia Congressman Launches `Witch Hunt' In U.S. Military
In 1995, the tax agency revoked the church's tax-exempt status, saying it had run afoul of provisions of the IRS Code that forbid non-profit groups from endorsing or opposing candidates for public office.
Church Politicking Case Argued In Federal Court