taboo
ta·boo [ tə-ˈbü]
variants: or less commonly tabu
variants: or less commonly tabu
1a : a prohibition imposed by social custom or as a protective measure
… they may have developed a taboo against eating fish.— Jared Diamond
b : something that is not acceptable to say, mention, or do : something that is taboo
… the tacticians in a conservative Republican Administration now deem membership in the club a taboo. — Peter J. Boyer
2 : a prohibition against touching, saying, or doing something for fear of immediate harm from a supernatural force
1a : banned on grounds of morality or taste
//the subject is taboo
b : banned as constituting a risk
the area beyond is taboo, still alive with explosives— Robert Leckie
2 : forbidden to profane use or contact because of what are held to be dangerous supernatural powers
variants: or less commonly tabu
transitive verb
1 : to set apart as taboo especially by marking with a ritualistic symbol
2 : to avoid or ban as taboo
Synonyms & Antonyms for dainty
Synonyms: Adjective
Synonyms: Antonyms:adjective
Recent Examples on the Web
//My hope is by continuing to share grief and loss, and addressing these taboo subjects head on it will help people who have experienced the same to feel less alone.
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Maria Pasquini, PEOPLE.com, "Meghan McCain Was 'Petrified' to Reveal She Had Suffered a Miscarriage: 'Don't Feel Bad for Us'," 21 July 2019
//The pushback against Trump on China is that tariffs are taboo and dangerous.
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Victor Davis Hanson, National Review, "Trump — or What, Exactly?," 27 Aug. 2019
//Arvind Gopalratnam, executive director of the foundation, said kids today are dealing with different issues than previous generations, and through that, mental health care is becoming a topic that isn't so taboo.
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Grace Connatser, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee Bucks Foundation announces over $300,000 in grants to 15 community organizations," 25 July 2019
//The effect of the lighthearted sequence is not only to take a swipe at the feminine-hygiene industrial complex, but to dismiss the notion that discussion of menstruation should be taboo.
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Celia Wren, Washington Post, "A little earnest absurdism about bodily functions goes a long way in the Welders’ ‘LadyM’," 16 July 2019
//All these assessments, while generally accurate, were taboo in public Mexican discourse.
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Tracy Wilkinson, latimes.com, "Trump's strong reaction to leak of British memos puts a chill on diplomacy," 11 July 2019
//Beyond these factors, though, is an underlying cause that may contribute to many of the things our society thinks of as taboo or bad: fear of the unknown.
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Sara Radin, Teen Vogue, "Taking Mental Health Medication Shouldn't Be Shameful," 24 May 2019
//With more states legalizing gambling and more teams incorporating it into the game, gambling will be less taboo in professional sports.
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Jenna Ortiz, azcentral, "How sports betting is finding its way into arenas," 12 June 2019
//In other industries and in Silicon Valley in particular, there’s been a push for salary transparency—but Bolles, Salvo, and Cowan all say that for freelancers, talking money is still largely taboo.
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Emma Goldberg, Glamour, "A Penny for Her Thoughts? Women in the Gig Economy Struggle to Get Paid," 16 Apr. 2019
//The local invisibility of the man behind such a vital chapter in transgender history may be less a result of social taboo, discrimination and local politics than Trinidad’s own identity struggle over the years.
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Martin J. Smith, Los Angeles Times, "He made this town the world’s ‘sex-change capital,’ but he’s not honored here," 12 Sep. 2019
//The two initiatives are part of a larger movement to bring menstruation into the open, eliminate the taboos around feminine hygiene and make those products readily available and affordable.
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Karen Berkowitz, chicagotribune.com, "A new initiative is trying to make searching for tampons easier for Highland Park women. It’s part of a national movement.," 12 Sep. 2019
//The taboo on pot appears to be easing among the young.
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The Economist, "Japanese law and social mores still treat users of soft drugs severely," 12 Sep. 2019
//Bradford discussed the taboos around money in the digital age during a panel at CNN Business' new event series, The Table, which focused on the future of payments.
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Ahiza Garcia, CNN, "Banking has a problem: It's still easier to talk about sex than money," 5 Sep. 2019
//And when someone, somewhere, tries to change the taboo against nudity, that person is likely German, Möhring added.
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Katrin Bennhold, BostonGlobe.com, "A very German idea of freedom: nude ping-pong, nude sledding, nude just about anything," 1 Sep. 2019
//Word of his behavior in Paris had gotten back to Charleville, and for years after his death, his poetry remained taboo in his own hometown.
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New York Times, "A Rebel French Poet Draws New Followers to the Hometown He Hated," 16 Sep. 2019
//This drew gasps from the audience— the television fans did not see that coming, at least—and provided an intriguing barometer for modern taboos.
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Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, "The Nostalgic End of Fleabag," 30 Aug. 2019
//The rule change represented, in part, an acknowledgement that many states have decriminalized or even legalized marijuana, and that the drug now carries less of a taboo.
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Pamela Wood, baltimoresun.com, "Across the board, Baltimore area police departments are much whiter than the people they serve," 11 Sep. 2019
First Known Use of taboo
Adjective
1777, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Noun
1777, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Verb
1777, in the meaning defined at sense 1
History and Etymology for taboo
Dictionary Entries near taboo
More Synonyms and Antonyms oftaboo
that may not be permitted
- asking a guest how much money he or she makes is strictly taboo because it's a rude question to ask a stranger
- accepted,
- accredited,
- allowed,
- appropriate,
- approved,
- authorized,
- certified,
- endorsed
- (also indorsed),
- lawful,
- legal,
- legitimate,
- licensed,
- OK
- (or okay),
- permitted,
- warranted
More Definitions fortaboo
: not acceptable to talk about or do
: a rule against doing or saying something in a particular culture or religion
: something that is not acceptable to talk about or do : something that is taboo
variants:
also tabu \ tə-ˈbü, ta- \
1 : a prohibition in some cultures against touching, saying, or doing something for fear of immediate harm from a mysterious superhuman force
2 : a prohibition imposed by social custom or as a protective measure
//the view that incest, not cannibalism, was the world's first taboo— Phyllis Grosskurth
: to avoid or ban as taboo