taboo

taboo
ta|boo1 [təˈbu:, tæ-] adj
[Date: 1700-1800; : Tongan; Origin: tabu]
1.) a taboo subject, word, activity etc is one that people avoid because it is extremely offensive or embarrassing
Rape is a taboo subject .
2.) not accepted as socially correct
It's taboo to date a man a lot younger than you.
3.) too holy or evil to be touched or used
taboo 2
taboo2 plural taboos
n
a custom that says you must avoid a particular activity or subject, either because it is considered offensive or because your religion does not allow it
taboo about/on/against
There are taboos against appearing naked in public places.

Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.

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  • TABOO — Single par Kumi Kōda extrait de l’album Trick Face A Taboo Face B Always Sortie 8 octobre 2008 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Taboo — (2009) Jaime Luis Gomez (* 14. Juli 1975 in Rosemead, Kalifornien), besser bekannt als Taboo, ist ein US amerikanischer Rapper mit mexikanisch amerikanischer/nordamerikanischer Indianer Abstammung. Er wurde mit der erfolgreichen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Taboo — Taboo: Taboo (певец) участник The Black Eyed Peas Taboo (песня) песня Дона Омара Taboo (группа) панк рок группа …   Википедия

  • taboo — [tə bo͞o′, tabo͞o′] n. pl. taboos [< a Polynesian language: cf. Tongan, Samoan, Maori, etc. tapu] 1. a) among some Polynesian peoples, a sacred prohibition put upon certain people, things, or acts which makes them untouchable, unmentionable,… …   English World dictionary

  • Taboo — Ta*boo , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tabooed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tabooing}.] To put under taboo; to forbid, or to forbid the use of; to interdict approach to, or use of; as, to taboo the ground set apart as a sanctuary for criminals. [Written also {tabu} …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Taboo — Ta*boo , a. [Written also {tabu} and {tapu}.] [Polynesian tabu, tapu, sacred, under restriction, a prohibition.] Set apart or sacred by religious custom among certain races of Polynesia, New Zealand, etc., and forbidden to certain persons or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • taboo — 1777 (in Cook s A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean ), consecrated, inviolable, forbidden, unclean or cursed, explained in some English sources as being from Tongan (Polynesian language of the island of Tonga) ta bu sacred, from ta mark + bu especially …   Etymology dictionary

  • taboo — [adj] not allowed, permitted anathema, banned, beyond the pale*, disapproved, forbidden, frowned on*, illegal, off limits*, outlawed, out of bounds*, prohibited, proscribed, reserved, restricted, ruled out, unacceptable, unmentionable,… …   New thesaurus

  • Taboo — Ta*boo , n. A total prohibition of intercourse with, use of, or approach to, a given person or thing under pain of death, an interdict of religious origin and authority, formerly common in the islands of Polynesia; interdiction. [Written also… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • taboo — index ban, exclude, forbid, illicit, inhibit, prohibition, proscribe (prohibit), restraint …   Law dictionary

  • taboo — is a noun, adjective, and verb, and is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable in all three. The noun has the plural form taboos, and the verb has inflected forms taboos, tabooed, tabooing. The variant form tabu is restricted to… …   Modern English usage

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