Antonyms for taboo
| Grammar : Adj, noun |
| Spell : tuh-boo, ta- |
| Phonetic Transcription : təˈbu, tæ- |
Definition of taboo
Origin :- 1777 (in Cook's "A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean"), "consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed," explained in some English sources as being from Tongan (Polynesian language of the island of Tonga) ta-bu "sacred," from ta "mark" + bu "especially." But this may be folk etymology, as linguists in the Pacific have reconstructed an irreducable Proto-Polynesian *tapu, from Proto-Oceanic *tabu "sacred, forbidden" (cf. Hawaiian kapu "taboo, prohibition, sacred, holy, consecrated;" Tahitian tapu "restriction, sacred;" Maori tapu "be under ritual restriction, prohibited"). The noun and verb are English innovations first recorded in Cook's book.
- adj not allowed, permitted
- noun something not allowed, permitted
- Yet as Ahmed Antoun in his green turban, he was "taboo" at our little party.
- Extract from : « It Happened in Egypt » by C. N. Williamson
- These topics were taboo and Captain Obed soon ceased to mention them.
- Extract from : « Thankful's Inheritance » by Joseph C. Lincoln
- Now those names were taboo; or, at any rate, they might as well be.
- Extract from : « The Portygee » by Joseph Crosby Lincoln
- There seemed to be no taboo on discussion of the Ids with him.
- Extract from : « Cubs of the Wolf » by Raymond F. Jones
- The savage was afraid to utter the real name of his god, it was taboo.
- Extract from : « The Necessity of Atheism » by Dr. D.M. Brooks
- The cow is taboo to the Hindus, the pig is taboo to the Mohammedans and to the Jews.
- Extract from : « The Necessity of Atheism » by Dr. D.M. Brooks
- The word “dance” is taboo among these Calvinists of the hills.
- Extract from : « In Happy Valley » by John Fox
- The elevator has now so accustomed us to the conveniences that stairs are taboo.
- Extract from : « Evening Round Up » by William Crosbie Hunter
- He will fail because human nature abhors the vacuum created by the taboo.
- Extract from : « A Preface to Politics » by Walter Lippmann
- It is the method of the taboo, as naïve as barbarism, as ancient as human failure.
- Extract from : « A Preface to Politics » by Walter Lippmann
Synonyms for taboo
- anathema
- ban
- banned
- beyond the pale
- disapproval
- disapproved
- don't
- forbiddance
- forbidden
- frowned on
- illegal
- inhibition
- interdict
- law
- limitation
- no-no
- off limits
- out of bounds
- outlawed
- prohibited
- prohibition
- proscribed
- proscription
- regulation
- religious convention
- reservation
- reserved
- restraint
- restricted
- restriction
- ruled out
- sanction
- social convention
- stricture
- superstition
- thou-shalt-not
- unacceptable
- unmentionable
- unthinkable
Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019