'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
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]
Synonyms of 'inhibit'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- arrest,
- avert,
- ban,
- bar,
- bit,
- bottle up,
- box up,
- bridle,
- cage,
- check,
- cloister,
- confine,
- constrain,
- contain,
- control,
- cool,
- cool off,
- coop,
- coop in,
- coop up,
- cork up,
- countercheck,
- crib,
- curb,
- curtail,
- dam up,
- damp,
- dampen,
- debar,
- decelerate,
- delay,
- deny,
- detain,
- disallow,
- discourage,
- dompt,
- embargo,
- encage,
- enclose,
- enjoin,
- exclude,
- exclude from,
- fence in,
- forbid,
- frustrate,
- govern,
- guard,
- hem in,
- hinder,
- hold,
- hold at bay,
- hold back,
- hold down,
- hold fast,
- hold in,
- hold in check,
- hold in custody,
- hold in leash,
- hold in restraint,
- hold up,
- immure,
- impede,
- impound,
- intercept,
- interdict,
- interfere,
- interfere with,
- intermeddle,
- interrupt,
- intervene,
- keep,
- keep back,
- keep from,
- keep in,
- keep in check,
- keep in custody,
- keep in detention,
- keep under,
- keep under control,
- lay under restraint,
- lock in,
- maintain,
- meddle,
- mew,
- mew up,
- obstruct,
- oppose,
- outlaw,
- pen,
- pen up,
- pound,
- preclude,
- preserve,
- prevent,
- prohibit,
- proscribe,
- pull,
- pull in,
- rail in,
- refuse,
- rein,
- rein in,
- reject,
- repress,
- resist,
- restrain,
- restrict,
- retain,
- retard,
- retrench,
- rule out,
- save,
- save up,
- say no to,
- scotch,
- seal up,
- set back,
- shackle,
- shut in,
- shut out,
- shut up,
- slacken,
- slow down,
- smother,
- snub,
- stifle,
- stop,
- straiten,
- sublimate,
- suppress,
- taboo,
- wall in,
- ward,
- withhold