forbear, forebear

The verb forbear (pronounced for-BĔR) means “to hold back.” The past tense is forebore.

This verb can be followed by a prepositional phrase starting with from, or by an infinitive phrase.

  • Since the Minister is absent, I will forbear from commenting.
  • Out of tact, we forbore to mention the error.

The noun forebear (pronounced FOR-bĕr) means “ancestor.” It is sometimes spelled forbear, without the e before the b.

  • Antonia’s forebears were hard-working people.

Copyright notice for Writing Tips Plus

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada

Search by related themes

Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator.