tr.v. pro·scribed, pro·scrib·ing, pro·scribes 1. To prohibit; forbid: foods that are proscribed by religious dietary laws. See Synonyms at forbid. 2. To denounce or condemn: "The small sins of natural pleasure that we see ... mildly proscribed in the confession manuals of the late Middle Ages" (James Turner). 3. a. To banish or outlaw (a person): "Emperors took it on themselves to proscribe heretics" (Garry Wills). b. To publish the name of (a person) as outlawed. [Middle English proscriben, from Latin prōscrībere, to put up someone's name as outlawed : prō-, in front; see PRO-1 + scrībere, to write; see skrībh- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] pro·scriber n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.