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Forbidding Quotes

The line between rule and restraint.

Modernism earned a forbidding reputation long before anyone read a page of it, all disconcerting abstraction and no easy plot. These quotes trace forbidding as both a mood and an act, alongside our Art quotes.

Modernism has a reputation for being a forbidding phenomenon: its visual arts disconcertingly non-representational, its literary efforts devoid of the consolations of plot and character - even its films, it's argued, fall well short of that true desideratum: entertainment.

Quotes by Will Self

We don't have to sit by while Trump uses his enormous global platform to undermine our national security. We would love to be able to actually force Twitter's hand to live up to its rules, explicitly forbidding hate speech and...

Quotes by Valerie Plame

Any society that starts forbidding certain words or expressions is a society you should be wary about, whether it's the KGB or social consensus that enforces it.

Quotes by Stellan Skarsgard

Correcting bad habits cannot be done by forbidding or punishment.

Quotes by Robert Baden-Powell

Able Quotes

People tell me all the time that I look forbidding or aloof. That doesn't bother me much - I am fairly private, withdrawn, and... distant, I guess. But, um, I think that's okay.

Quotes by Ric Ocasek

By forbidding Jews to destroy their hair, the Bible warns them away from seeking the siren song of eternal youth. By encouraging Jews to grow beards, it reminds them that they will not be young forever, that they must prepare...

Quotes by Meir Soloveichik

Net neutrality is the principle forbidding huge telecommunications companies from treating users, websites, or apps differently - say, by letting some work better than others over their pipes.

Quotes by Marvin Ammori

My dad was quite a forbidding figure. I realise now that that was mainly because he worked so hard. He wasn't unkind, but he was a presence.

Quotes by Mark Gatiss

It's a vast, lonely, forbidding expanse of nothing rather like clouds and clouds of pumice stone. And it certainly does not appear to be a very inviting place to live or work.

Quotes by Frank Borman

About Quotes

A British porch is a musty, forbidding non-room in which to fling a sodden umbrella or a muddy pair of boots; a guard against the elements and strangers. By contrast the good ol' American front porch seems to stand for...

Quotes by Dan Stevens

I'd already decided I wanted to design shoes after I saw a sign in the Museum of African and Oceanic Art forbidding high heels. Well, who could resist?

Quotes by Christian Louboutin

I don't feel uncomfortable in forbidding institutions, and work with, say, prisons or psychiatric institutions could be one of the things that evolve out of the Laureateship.

Quotes by Chris Riddell

Broadly speaking, the problems with the Espionage Act are that it is hopelessly broad. And we tend to use the Espionage Act - we think about the Espionage Act as forbidding disclosures of classified information. That's not really what the...

Quotes by Benjamin Wittes

Knowing some Greek helped defuse forbidding words - not that I counted much on using them. You'll find only trace elements of this language in the poem.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "forbidding" mean across these quotes?
The word covers both a stern, off-putting mood — as in art or literature described as forbidding — and the literal act of prohibiting something. See more in our Art quotes.
Why do people search for quotes using the word "forbidding"?
It's a specific, somewhat literary word, so it tends to come up in discussions of art criticism, cultural tradition, or debates about restricting speech.
Is there a quote about art or literature being forbidding?
Yes — one describes Modernism's reputation as forbidding, calling its visual art disconcertingly non-representational and its literature short on plot and character. See more in our About quotes.
Do any quotes connect forbidding to tradition or religious practice?
One references a tradition forbidding certain practices around hair as a symbolic reminder about youth and time, framed as historical religious commentary rather than modern debate.
Is there a caution about forbidding words or expression in this set?
Yes — one quote warns that a society moving to outlaw specific language or phrases deserves close scrutiny, regardless of who is doing the enforcing.

One line warns that any society forbidding certain words, whoever enforces it, deserves scrutiny — a caution that outlasts its original context. Read more in our About quotes.