“Forbear” or “Forebear”

Overview

forbear / forebear are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

forbear: (verb) refrain from doing.

forebear: (noun) a person from whom you are descended.

Pronunciation

forbear: NA

forebear: f·AO·r·b·EH·r

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Examples in Context

Examples of “forbear”

…all behaved so well, I forbear to make invidious [i.e., onerous]…
…and finally forgive it, but forbear it for that year".

Examples of “forebear”

(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)

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