noun

• 1The action of forbidding something, especially by law.

  ‘they argue that prohibition of drugs will always fail’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Turvey has long argued against drug prohibition, yet he increasingly applauds and encourages enforcement measures.’
  • ‘I'd like to promote elimination of drug prohibition.’
  • ‘The one on drug prohibition was also very important to me.’
  • ‘It's one more example of drug prohibition doing more harm than good.’
  • ‘Harm reduction interventions have the potential to reduce the perils of both drug use and drug prohibition.’
  • ‘Canadians have lost our sense of what is right and wrong over drug prohibition.’
  • ‘The criminalization of responsible drug users is only one of the many pointless aspects of drug prohibition.’
  • ‘Thus, prohibition would be argued for on religious as well as on alleged scientific or medicinal grounds.’
  • ‘The international prohibition of drugs is their lifeblood, and a guarantee of on-going civil war.’
  • ‘Very few people in this country now believe that drug prohibition can work.’
  • ‘They do not even tell us whether the costs of drug use are lower than they would be without prohibition.’
  • ‘The strongest argument against prohibition is that it does not stop people from using drugs.’
  • ‘Any action carrying a risk of major disaster must be prohibited, regardless of the costs of prohibition.’
  • ‘Ultimately, however, we do not believe that these arguments are sufficient reason to weaken society's prohibition of intentional killing.’
  • ‘The caller suggests that there is full prohibition of guns in France, but the rate of crime in France has increased significantly recently.’
  • ‘Marijuana may be relatively harmless, but marijuana prohibition is deadly.’
  • ‘The blanket prohibition of drugs, I think, is wrong.’
  • ‘Beyond the substantial fiscal costs of enforcing the prohibition of cannabis, the social costs of such policies are considerable.’
  • ‘Even if surrogacy did breach some attractive moral principle, this would not automatically justify legislative prohibition.’

  Synonyms

  banning, forbidding, prohibiting, barring, debarment, vetoing, proscription, disallowing, disallowance, interdiction, outlawing, making illegal

  ban, bar, interdict, veto, embargo, injunction, proscription, boycott, moratorium

  View synonyms

  1. 1.1count noun A law or regulation forbidding something.
     ‘prohibitions on insider dealing’
     More example sentences

     • ‘The prohibition on retroactive penal legislation is linked to the right to a fair trial, as it is irrevocably an example of an unfair trial.’
     • ‘The prohibition on ‘common law’ crimes is a good thing even though injustice can result.’
     • ‘Similarly, many prohibitions of the criminal law are morally neutral.’
     • ‘That was said in the face of a statutory prohibition on commenting on the fact that the accused did not give sworn evidence.’
     • ‘The actual wording of the clause imposes a blanket prohibition on working for another firm of financial analysts.’
     • ‘While some activities are prohibited, sanctuaries do not impose a total prohibition on human use.’
     • ‘International law establishes an absolute prohibition against torture.’
     • ‘The legal prohibition on discrimination initially only applied to government actions.’
     • ‘In the absence of statutory criminal prohibitions, the transactions involved in the scheme and the scheme itself are lawful.’
     • ‘Disclosure would contravene a prohibition imposed by or under any enactment.’
     • ‘As Epstein notes, making no exception to a general prohibition on the use of force is not an option.’
     • ‘When it comes to local news, we will continue with our general prohibition on the use of anonymous sources.’
     • ‘When courts extend constitutional prohibitions beyond their previously recognized limit, they may restrict democratic choices made by public bodies.’
     • ‘I am not satisfied that they contravened the specific prohibition.’
     • ‘Again, the Court noted that the injunctions did not constitute a blanket prohibition.’
     • ‘Parliament has partly lifted the prohibition on imports and exports of cash via post deliveries.’
     • ‘In theory, the constitutional prohibition could be interpreted as applying only to the future.’
     • ‘There are eight classes of injunctions and prohibitions which apply to all deeds and actions of mankind.’
     • ‘No government would contend that these prohibitions apply only to parties to the treaties that outlaw them.’
  2. 1.2English Law count noun A writ from a superior court forbidding an inferior court from proceeding in a suit deemed to be beyond its cognizance.
     ‘The Court may direct the issue of such process as may be necessary for doing complete justice in any matter including writs of prohibition, certiorari and mandamus.’
     More example sentences

     • ‘The new proceeding seeks a writ of prohibition and of certiorari.’
     • ‘We seem to be left with an application for - well, it is described as an application for writs of prohibition, mandamus and a declaration.’
     • ‘I am just suggesting that there was minor error in the way that I have worded it, because I have never made out a writ of certiorari and prohibition.’
     • ‘The old judicial review remedies of certiorari, mandamus and prohibition were never applied to charitable trusts as such.’

• 2

  (also Prohibition)

  The prevention by law of the manufacture and sale of alcohol, especially in the US between 1920 and 1933.

  ‘Later, the islands were used as a smuggling stopover for arms in the civil war and for bootleg alcohol during Prohibition.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The cases date back to the 1920s, when Prohibition created an illicit trade in alcohol.’
  • ‘Made up largely of family-owned vineyards at the onset of Prohibition, the industry got clobbered by the new legislation.’
  • ‘After Prohibition was repealed, brandy remained a relatively ordinary product although its commercial importance grew over the decades.’
  • ‘His sleepy hollow, in the dirt-poor Appalachian foothills, soon became more popular than a speakeasy during Prohibition.’
  • ‘How much weight did he give to the corruption and violent crime induced by Prohibition?’
  • ‘The legacies of Prohibition were an increased level of alcohol consumption and flourishing organised crime.’
  • ‘It is akin to the banning of alcohol in the U.S.A. during the time of Prohibition, and is totally unenforceable.’
  • ‘Enforcing Prohibition was so onerous we had to repeal the very constitutional amendment the zealots encouraged us to pass.’
  • ‘Like the first Prohibition in the 1920s, an underground industry in alcohol had sprung up, and organized crime grew more powerful.’
  • ‘He is currently researching business support for Prohibition.’
  • ‘The demand for illicit drugs is as strong as the nation's thirst for bootleg booze during Prohibition.’
  • ‘Politicians who argued to overturn Prohibition in the United States used this argument.’
  • ‘The best American piece is on how Scotch whisky still poured into the USA during Prohibition.’
  • ‘Students were amazed at the way food was served, and at the ready availability of alcohol on board, especially during Prohibition.’
  • ‘An English trade embargo on Irish whiskey and Prohibition here in the U.S. helped shutter most of Ireland's distilleries.’
  • ‘As the fight for Prohibition showed, the social gospel leaders cared about whether people drank or didn't drink.’
  • ‘Laws harking back to Prohibition require vintners to sell their wines through state-licensed distributors.’
  • ‘Exchange controls resemble U.S. Prohibition during the 1920s.’
  • ‘Prohibition in the 1920s created a market for cheap versions of alcoholic products, such as bathtub gin.’