inhibit

Verb
Synonyms: suppressstamp downsubdueconquercurbbottle up

WordNet 3.0

Verb (4)

  1. to put down by force or authority“suppress a nascent uprising”“stamp down on littering”“conquer one's desires”Synonyms: suppressstamp downsubdueconquercurb
  2. limit the range or extent of“Contact between the young was inhibited by strict social customs”
  3. limit, block, or decrease the action or function of“inhibit the action of the enzyme”“inhibit the rate of a chemical reaction”
  4. control and refrain from showing; of emotions, desires, impulses, or behaviorSynonyms: bottle upsuppress
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Inhibit \In*hib"it\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Inhibited; p. pr. & vb. n. Inhibiting.] [L. inhibitus, p. p. of inhibere; pref. in- in + habere to have, hold. See Habit.] [1913 Webster]

1.To check; to hold back; to restrain; to hinder. [1913 Webster]

Their motions also are excited or inhibited . . . by the objects without them.— Bentley.[1913 Webster]

2.To forbid; to prohibit; to interdict. [1913 Webster]

All men were inhibited, by proclamation, at the dissolution, so much as to mention a Parliament.— Clarendon.[1913 Webster]
Burial may not be inhibited or denied to any one.— Ayliffe.[1913 Webster]

3.(Chem., Biochem.) To cause the rate of (a chemical or biochemical reaction) to proceed slower, or to halt; as, vitamin C inhibits oxidation; penicillins inhibit bacterial cell wall synthesis. [PJC]

4.To restrain (a behavior) by a mechanism involving conscious or unconscious motivations. [PJC]

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