Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To prohibit; forbid: synonym: forbid.
  • transitive verb To denounce or condemn.
  • transitive verb To banish or outlaw (a person).
  • transitive verb To publish the name of (a person) as outlawed.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To publish the name of, as condemned to death and liable to confiscation of property.
  • To put out of the protection of the law; banish; outlaw; exile.
  • To denounce and condemn as dangerous; reject utterly; interdict; prohibit.
  • Synonyms To doom.
  • To forbid.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To doom to destruction; to put out of the protection of law; to outlaw; to exile.
  • transitive verb To denounce and condemn; to interdict; to prohibit.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To forbid or prohibit.
  • verb transitive To denounce.
  • verb transitive To banish or exclude.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb command against

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English proscriben, from Latin prōscrībere, to put up someone's name as outlawed : prō-, in front; see pro– + scrībere, to write; see skrībh- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • When I commented that you were in error in your use of the word proscribe, I meant exactly that, bit.

    Think Progress » Virginia attorney general instructs state colleges to stop protecting gay students from discrimination. 2010

  • On most washdays I use chlorine bleach on several articles whose labels proscribe it, without the slightest damage, and many of these have been receiving chlorine bleach now and then for years.

    HOME COMFORTS CHERYL MENDELSON 2005

  • On most washdays I use chlorine bleach on several articles whose labels proscribe it, without the slightest damage, and many of these have been receiving chlorine bleach now and then for years.

    HOME COMFORTS CHERYL MENDELSON 2005

  • On most washdays I use chlorine bleach on several articles whose labels proscribe it, without the slightest damage, and many of these have been receiving chlorine bleach now and then for years.

    HOME COMFORTS CHERYL MENDELSON 2005

  • On most washdays I use chlorine bleach on several articles whose labels proscribe it, without the slightest damage, and many of these have been receiving chlorine bleach now and then for years.

    HOME COMFORTS CHERYL MENDELSON 2005

  • It was more than just symbolic literary resistance because The Satanic Verses is still banned in India, which enjoys the dubious honour of having been the first country to proscribe the book.

    Salman Rushdie: a literary giant still beset by bigots | profile 2012

  • Halakhic legal Judaism views all male and female same-sex sexual interactions as prohibited ... and cannot give its blessing and imprimatur to Jewish religious same-sex commitment ceremonies and weddings, and halakhic values proscribe individuals and communities from encouraging practices that grant religious legitimacy to gay marriage and couplehood.

    Warren J. Blumenfeld: LGBT Discrimination And The Promise Of Tikkun Olam Warren J. Blumenfeld 2012

  • Halakhic legal Judaism views all male and female same-sex sexual interactions as prohibited ... and cannot give its blessing and imprimatur to Jewish religious same-sex commitment ceremonies and weddings, and halakhic values proscribe individuals and communities from encouraging practices that grant religious legitimacy to gay marriage and couplehood.

    Warren J. Blumenfeld: LGBT Discrimination And The Promise Of Tikkun Olam Warren J. Blumenfeld 2012

  • A draft of the report circulated to SEC commissioners over the weekend didn't proscribe any policy changes, nor did it attempt to nudge regulators to pursue certain reforms, according to a person who has seen it.

    'Flash Crash' Report Could Come Friday Jessica Holzer 2010

  • Party officials have suggested they will look to strengthen Tunisia's political and economic ties with fellow Arab-Islamic states in the region and perhaps legalize Islamic banking systems that proscribe interest and relies instead on fees.

    Moderate Islamist Party Set to Win Tunisian Vote Charles Levinson 2011

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