ban

to prohibit especially by legal means 特别是通过法律手段禁止

// ban discrimination 禁止歧视

// The city has banned smoking in all public buildings. 该市已禁止所有公共建筑内吸烟。

also : to prohibit the use, performance, or distribution of 禁止使用，执行或分发

// ban a book 禁止一本书

// ban a pesticide 禁止使用农药

bar

PREVENT, FORBID 禁止

// a decision barring his participation 禁止他参加的决定

to keep out : EXCLUDE —often used with from

// Women were barred from joining the club. 妇女被禁止加入这个俱乐部。

outlaw

to deprive of the benefit and protection of law : declare to be an outlaw, to make illegal 认为不合法，禁止

// In Australia, goverments have outlawed a pistol without a licence. 澳大利亚政府已规定没有持枪证而拥有手枪是非法的。

= illegalize, criminalize

forbid

to proscribe from or as if from the position of one in authority : command against 从权威者或相对权威者的位置上禁止，反对做某事

FORBID implies that the order is from one in authority and that obedience is expected.

// The law forbids stores to sell liquor to minors. 该法禁止商店将酒卖给未成年人。

// Her mother forbids her to go. 她的母亲禁止她去。

// Smoking is forbidden in the building. 大楼内禁止吸烟。

prohibit

PROHIBIT suggests the issuing of laws, statutes, or regulations. 颁布法律，法规或规章的“禁止”。

// prohibited the sale of liquor 禁止卖酒

interdict

INTERDICT implies prohibition by civil or ecclesiastical authority usually for a given time or a declared purpose. 意味着通常在给定的时间或已宣布的目的下，民间或教会机构禁止。

// practice interdicted by the church 教会禁止的行为

inhibit

INHIBIT implies restraints or restrictions that amount to prohibitions, not only by authority but also by the exigencies of the time or situation. 制止，抑制

// conditions inhibiting the growth of free trade 阻碍/限制自由贸易增长的条件

proscribe

to condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful : PROHIBIT 禁止

// acts that are proscribed by law 法律禁止的行为

// regulations proscribe the use of electronic devices on board a plane while it is landing 规定禁止在飞机降落时使用电子设备

Proscribe vs. Prescribe

禁止与处方

Proscribe and prescribe each have a Latin-derived prefix that means "before" attached to the verb "scribe" (from scribere, meaning "to write"). Yet the two words have very distinct, often nearly opposite meanings. Why? In a way, you could say it's the law. In the 15th and 16th centuries both words had legal implications. To proscribe was to publish the name of a person who had been condemned, outlawed, or banished. To prescribe meant "to lay down a rule," including legal rules or orders.

ban, bar, outlaw, forbid, prohibit, interdict, inhibit, proscribe