MEANING
Restrained from freely speaking or acting by self-consciousness, fear, or social pressure.
Use it for
fear of judgment; blocked self-expressionShow apprehension limiting expression rather than producing flight.
Words that belong together
- feel inhibited
- inhibited behavior
- inhibited in company
On the page
She felt inhibited in a room full of senior officers.
Fear of ridicule made him unusually inhibited during the discussion.
The anonymous survey let inhibited students describe the bullying.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- inhibited
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Usage notes
Primary category: fear. Broader than fearful; inhibition may come from convention or deliberate restraint. Do not confuse quietness with unwillingness. Gradable with more/most; no inflectional endings normally needed. Derived family (not additional inflections or records): inhibition.
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