1. Forbid a practice or activity through an authoritative rule or prohibition.
2. Officially condemn or outlaw a person, historically exposing them to punishment or confiscation.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- proscribe discrimination
- proscribe a practice
On the page
The policy proscribed undisclosed conflicts of interest but allowed transparent external collaboration.
A blanket rule proscribing dissent would undermine the consultation process.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- proscribe
- Past tense
- proscribed
- Past participle
- proscribed
- Present participle
- proscribing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- proscribe
- Present continuous
- am/is/are proscribing
- Present perfect
- have/has proscribed
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been proscribing
- Past
- proscribed
- Past continuous
- was/were proscribing
- Past perfect
- had proscribed
- Past perfect continuous
- had been proscribing
- Future
- will proscribe
- Future continuous
- will be proscribing
- Future perfect
- will have proscribed
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been proscribing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: proscribe; proscribes; proscribed; proscribed; proscribing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: regulation, qualification. Disciplines: general academic writing. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: proscribes.
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