ban 1 of 2

verb

ˈban How to pronounce ban (audio)
Definition of bannext
1
as in to prohibit
to order not to do or use or to be done or used the company absolutely bans smoking within its buildings

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2
as in to exclude
to prevent the participation, consideration, or inclusion of the university banned those caught in the cheating scandal from graduation ceremonies

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ban

2 of 2

noun

1
as in curse
a prayer that harm will come to someone a father's ban upon his ungrateful son

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in prohibition
an order that something not be done or used a quiet seaside resort with a ban on the drinking of alcohol in public places

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ban
Verb
Representative Greg Casar and Senator Bernie Sanders have called for pausing advanced AI development and banning superintelligence. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026 The Legislature changed state law to ban the government from spending public funds on political ads. — Christopher Spata, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026
Noun
But Marxists who dreamed of a workers’ republic could not compete with the reformers in Congress who enacted such measures as a progressive income tax, antitrust legislation, and a ban on child labor. — Michael Kazin, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 2026 Not all bad In light of these concerns, some researchers argue that bans on social media platforms are like putting an age restriction on buying alcohol or cigarettes. — Ari Lightman, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ban
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ban
  1. prohibit
  2. exclude
  3. curse
  4. prohibition
  5. forbid
  6. eliminate
  7. condemnation
  8. outlaw
Verb
  • The curfew prohibits anyone from entering or remaining on the Place de la République, where rioting took place Saturday, and the shopping neighborhood of Les Halles, which has been subject to looting.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • If admiration and support for female athletes drive support for prohibiting transgender women from participating in women’s sports, then those who favor Title IX should also favor bans.
    — Jesse Rhodes, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of prohibit
Verb
  • Combined with its co-founders' pledge to donate 80% of their equity and an employee donation matching program, roughly 20% of Anthropic's shares will be dedicated to public purposes, excluding any additional shares added later.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Parillo allegedly excluded her from LHS’s management and declared himself the company’s director, president, secretary, and treasurer.
    — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of exclude
Noun
  • For their version, which follows a young teen boy (Bean Reid’s Sam) who works to find his missing brother in a town haunted by an evil crop curse, the answer was pumpkin guts.
    — Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The money, which added up to many millions in today’s dollars, was a blessing and a curse.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of curse
Noun
  • Historically, politicians have kept a firewall between church and state to keep from crossing the First Amendment’s prohibition on a national religion or government restrictions that interfere with an individual’s expression of faith.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026
  • These young people have defied prohibitions on protest, breached draconian security clampdowns, and endured detentions to relentlessly question the government’s authority.
    — Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of prohibition
Verb
  • Reservoirs have already fallen perilously low -- with one lake so dry this year that a small town nearby let its Little League field go dry and temporarily forbade residents from washing cars or watering lawns.
    — Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The political math is forbidding for Kozycki, even as Republicans nationwide scramble to defend once-friendly territory.
    — Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of forbid
Verb
  • After a month, the ketogenic group showed clear metabolic improvements; the more striking psychiatric and cognitive gains turned up at four months—by which point the diet had been offered to everyone, eliminating the control-group comparison.
    — Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Manganese dioxide helps absorb and break down acetic acid, eliminating the odor.
    — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of eliminate
Noun
  • Trump’s move drew bipartisan condemnation from lawmakers who backed the measure overwhelmingly.
    — Lisa Mascaro, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Netanyahu has criticized the violence but has taken few steps to crack down on incidents that have drawn international condemnation and sanction plans by longtime Israeli allies, including Britain.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of condemnation
Verb
  • Using the history of gay male desire in different time periods — dangerous, clandestine, outlawed and at long last fitfully accepted — the film examines legacy and what gets handed down across time.
    — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • None of the other states that have passed constitutional amendments protecting the ability to hunt and fish have had specific hunting methods outlawed by the voters, as Colorado has.
    — Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of outlaw

Browse Nearby Words

bamboozling
ban
banal
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Cite this Entry

“Ban.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ban. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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