'Inhibit' definitions:

Definition of 'inhibit'

From: WordNet
verb
To put down by force or authority; "suppress a nascent uprising"; "stamp down on littering"; "conquer one's desires" [syn: suppress, stamp down, inhibit, subdue, conquer, curb]
verb
Limit the range or extent of; "Contact between the young was inhibited by strict social customs"
verb
Limit, block, or decrease the action or function of; "inhibit the action of the enzyme"; "inhibit the rate of a chemical reaction"
verb
Control and refrain from showing; of emotions, desires, impulses, or behavior [syn: inhibit, bottle up, suppress]

Definition of 'Inhibit'

From: GCIDE
  • Inhibit \In*hib"it\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Inhibited; p. pr. & vb. n. Inhibiting.] [L. inhibitus, p. p. of inhibere; pref. in- in + habere to have, hold. See Habit.] [1913 Webster]
  • 1. To check; to hold back; to restrain; to hinder. [1913 Webster]
  • Their motions also are excited or inhibited . . . by the objects without them. --Bentley. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To forbid; to prohibit; to interdict. [1913 Webster]
  • All men were inhibited, by proclamation, at the dissolution, so much as to mention a Parliament. --Clarendon. [1913 Webster]
  • Burial may not be inhibited or denied to any one. --Ayliffe. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. (Chem., Biochem.) To cause the rate of (a chemical or biochemical reaction) to proceed slower, or to halt; as, vitamin C inhibits oxidation; penicillins inhibit bacterial cell wall synthesis. [PJC]
  • 4. To restrain (a behavior) by a mechanism involving conscious or unconscious motivations. [PJC]