Taboo
noun
A rule or custom that makes something not allowed.
In many cultures, talking openly about salaries is considered a taboo.
Often appears as...
- break a taboo
- cultural taboo
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Not allowed by society or by a certain group.
Discussing politics at the dinner table is often seen as taboo.
Often appears as...
- taboo subject
- taboo topic
Usage tips
Disapproving
verb
To put a restriction or prohibition on something.
The government has tabooed the sale of alcoholic beverages.
Often appears as...
- taboo someone from doing something
- taboo something entirely
Usage tips
Formal, Disapproving
Legal
noun
A rule or custom that makes something not allowed.
In many cultures, talking openly about salaries is considered a taboo.
Often appears as...
- break a taboo
- cultural taboo
Usage tips
Disapproving
adjective
Not allowed by society or by a certain group.
Discussing politics at the dinner table is often seen as taboo.
Often appears as...
- taboo subject
- taboo topic
Usage tips
Disapproving
verb
To put a restriction or prohibition on something.
The government has tabooed the sale of alcoholic beverages.
Often appears as...
- taboo someone from doing something
- taboo something entirely
Usage tips
Formal, Disapproving
Legal
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Cultural Sensitivity
Taboos vary widely between different societies. What's taboo in one culture may be normal in another.
In some societies, eating insects is taboo, while in others, it's a delicacy.
Pro Tip 2/3Changing Norms
What is considered a taboo can change over time within the same culture.
Tattoos were once a taboo in many societies, but are now widely accepted.
Pro Tip 3/3Implicit Understanding
Taboos are often unspoken and assumed to be understood by members of a culture.
Bringing up someone's weight in conversation is an unspoken taboo.
Pro Tip 1/3Cultural Sensitivity
Taboos vary widely between different societies. What's taboo in one culture may be normal in another.
In some societies, eating insects is taboo, while in others, it's a delicacy.
Pro Tip 2/3Changing Norms
What is considered a taboo can change over time within the same culture.
Tattoos were once a taboo in many societies, but are now widely accepted.
Pro Tip 3/3Implicit Understanding
Taboos are often unspoken and assumed to be understood by members of a culture.
Bringing up someone's weight in conversation is an unspoken taboo.
Pro Tip 1/3Cultural Sensitivity
Taboos vary widely between different societies. What's taboo in one culture may be normal in another.
In some societies, eating insects is taboo, while in others, it's a delicacy.
Pro Tip 2/3Changing Norms
What is considered a taboo can change over time within the same culture.
Tattoos were once a taboo in many societies, but are now widely accepted.
Pro Tip 3/3Implicit Understanding
Taboos are often unspoken and assumed to be understood by members of a culture.
Bringing up someone's weight in conversation is an unspoken taboo.
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Video examples
Rufus Griscom and Alisa...
that's when it gets really interesting. That's a subject that we want to dive into. And we've been surprised to find, as young parents, that there are almost more taboos around parenting than there are around sex. It's true. So like we said, the early years were really wonderful, but they were also really difficult.
Video examples
Sir David Attenborough...
fully grown and neither are they hedgehogs although they seem to resemble them so closely they are a strange extremely primitive creature called a tenrec and they live nowhere else in the world but in madagascar the local people have superstitions and taboos connected with nearly all their
Video examples
A brief history of...
It's a conversation that reflects the ideologies, mythologies, belief systems and taboos and so much more of the world in which it was made. But this is not to say that work from another age made to serve a particular function in that time is dead or has nothing to offer the modern viewer.
Video examples
Where do superstitions...
For example, theater scenery used to consist of large painted backdrops, raised and lowered by stagehands who would whistle to signal each other. Absentminded whistles from other people could cause an accident. But the taboo against whistling backstage still exists today,
Video examples
Christopher Golden: Bush...
But she does appear in people's dreams. What she tells them in those dreams is which animals to have a taboo for. She can, in many ways, be seen as a conservation spirit. She is telling certain people what to not eat, what wildlife species should be protected.
Video examples
Bee Therapy PIPE National...
acupuncture as a labor of love even he once considered it taboo in fact like most of us he was afraid of bees thirty years ago mr. Chen was an executive for a textiles company then his wife began to suffer from arthritic pain so severe
Video examples
Understanding bipolar...
someone with bipolar disorder and who is afraid of seeking treatment because of the stigma the taboo I've shared my journey now I dare you to learn more about bipolar disorder and mental illness and join me in speaking out thank you
Video examples
Would You Eat Bull...
Cho may be Taiwan's most highly respected chef and tonight he will host a very unusual dinner for some very special guests including several of taiwan's top food critics the dish he's chosen to prepare is so taboo it may be
Video examples
Bull Penis for Dinner PIPE...
Cho may be Taiwan's most highly respected chef and tonight he will host a very unusual dinner for some very special guests including several of taiwan's top food critics the dish he's chosen to prepare is so taboo it may be
Video examples
Taboo to You: Eyeball...
to stuff I guess the attitude would be more taboo so your seventeen-year-old daughter comes home and says I want to tattoo my eyeballs dad what are you saying I'd be thrilled that she was discussing it in advance
Video examples
Rufus Griscom and Alisa...
that's when it gets really interesting. That's a subject that we want to dive into. And we've been surprised to find, as young parents, that there are almost more taboos around parenting than there are around sex. It's true. So like we said, the early years were really wonderful, but they were also really difficult.
Video examples
Sir David Attenborough...
fully grown and neither are they hedgehogs although they seem to resemble them so closely they are a strange extremely primitive creature called a tenrec and they live nowhere else in the world but in madagascar the local people have superstitions and taboos connected with nearly all their
Video examples
A brief history of...
It's a conversation that reflects the ideologies, mythologies, belief systems and taboos and so much more of the world in which it was made. But this is not to say that work from another age made to serve a particular function in that time is dead or has nothing to offer the modern viewer.
Video examples
Where do superstitions...
For example, theater scenery used to consist of large painted backdrops, raised and lowered by stagehands who would whistle to signal each other. Absentminded whistles from other people could cause an accident. But the taboo against whistling backstage still exists today,
Video examples
Christopher Golden: Bush...
But she does appear in people's dreams. What she tells them in those dreams is which animals to have a taboo for. She can, in many ways, be seen as a conservation spirit. She is telling certain people what to not eat, what wildlife species should be protected.
Video examples
Bee Therapy PIPE National...
acupuncture as a labor of love even he once considered it taboo in fact like most of us he was afraid of bees thirty years ago mr. Chen was an executive for a textiles company then his wife began to suffer from arthritic pain so severe
Video examples
Understanding bipolar...
someone with bipolar disorder and who is afraid of seeking treatment because of the stigma the taboo I've shared my journey now I dare you to learn more about bipolar disorder and mental illness and join me in speaking out thank you
Video examples
Would You Eat Bull...
Cho may be Taiwan's most highly respected chef and tonight he will host a very unusual dinner for some very special guests including several of taiwan's top food critics the dish he's chosen to prepare is so taboo it may be
Video examples
Bull Penis for Dinner PIPE...
Cho may be Taiwan's most highly respected chef and tonight he will host a very unusual dinner for some very special guests including several of taiwan's top food critics the dish he's chosen to prepare is so taboo it may be
Video examples
Taboo to You: Eyeball...
to stuff I guess the attitude would be more taboo so your seventeen-year-old daughter comes home and says I want to tattoo my eyeballs dad what are you saying I'd be thrilled that she was discussing it in advance
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Ian Lustick
American Historian
International peace and security depend on certain taboos that are easily recognized when they are broken. It can be more important for an intervention to take place because nuclear or chemical or biological weapons are used as opposed to just measuring how many people are killed.
Quote examples
Todd Solondz
American Writer
When part of what you're trying to get at is the truth hidden under a taboo, or when you want to nail a hypocrisy, laughter is a very useful tool. I want to show the painful side of existence, but there is no question I also want to make people laugh.
Quote examples
Tippi Hedren
American Actress
Marnie' was ahead of its time. People didn't talk about childhood and its effects on adult life. It was taboo to discuss sexuality and psychology and to put all that into a film was shocking.
Quote examples
Neena Gupta
Indian Actress
Masaba has helped me break some taboos, like wearing off-white with white or sneakers with a fancy gown. She's given me the confidence to carry off stuff, which looks nice.
Quote examples
Jimmy Barnes
Scottish Musician
I used to think anyone with abandonment issues was a waste of space. But you do need to get help. Blokes don't talk about those things. It's a taboo in the bloke world.
Quote examples
Stromae
Belgian Musician
Music is the only place that I can have no taboos. In real life I have a lot of taboos, and I can't talk about everything easily.
Quote examples
Jon Scieszka
American Author
For the longest time, you couldn't even say boys and girls were different. It was taboo in the educational world.
Quote examples
Ricky Williams
American Football Player
I've always been attracted to things that are taboo. I've never been afraid to go to that dark place.
Quote examples
Rupi Kaur
Canadian Poet
Poetry and art are key influences in changing how we look at taboos.
Quote examples
Amy Bloom
American Writer
The truth is I never think of any subject as taboo.
Quote examples
Ian Lustick
American Historian
International peace and security depend on certain taboos that are easily recognized when they are broken. It can be more important for an intervention to take place because nuclear or chemical or biological weapons are used as opposed to just measuring how many people are killed.
Quote examples
Todd Solondz
American Writer
When part of what you're trying to get at is the truth hidden under a taboo, or when you want to nail a hypocrisy, laughter is a very useful tool. I want to show the painful side of existence, but there is no question I also want to make people laugh.
Quote examples
Tippi Hedren
American Actress
Marnie' was ahead of its time. People didn't talk about childhood and its effects on adult life. It was taboo to discuss sexuality and psychology and to put all that into a film was shocking.
Quote examples
Neena Gupta
Indian Actress
Masaba has helped me break some taboos, like wearing off-white with white or sneakers with a fancy gown. She's given me the confidence to carry off stuff, which looks nice.
Quote examples
Jimmy Barnes
Scottish Musician
I used to think anyone with abandonment issues was a waste of space. But you do need to get help. Blokes don't talk about those things. It's a taboo in the bloke world.
Quote examples
Stromae
Belgian Musician
Music is the only place that I can have no taboos. In real life I have a lot of taboos, and I can't talk about everything easily.
Quote examples
Jon Scieszka
American Author
For the longest time, you couldn't even say boys and girls were different. It was taboo in the educational world.
Quote examples
Ricky Williams
American Football Player
I've always been attracted to things that are taboo. I've never been afraid to go to that dark place.
Quote examples
Rupi Kaur
Canadian Poet
Poetry and art are key influences in changing how we look at taboos.
Quote examples
Amy Bloom
American Writer
The truth is I never think of any subject as taboo.
Example 1 of 10
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