inhibition
inhibition Lexical Profile
inhibition Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A feeling of self-consciousness, shyness, or inner restraint that prevents someone from acting naturally, spontaneously, or freely.
"Singing in front of a supportive group helped the students overcome their inhibitions on stage."
The act or process of hindering, restraining, or preventing an action, development, or impulse.
"High regulatory tariffs resulted in a noticeable inhibition of cross-border trade."
In biology and chemistry, the slowing down or prevention of a chemical reaction, enzyme activity, or physiological process by a specific substance or neural signal.
"The new medication works through the selective inhibition of the enzyme responsible for inflammation."
• Rhymes for inhibition
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Old French inhibition and directly from Latin inhibitio ('a restraining'), from the verb inhibere ('to hold back, restrain'), formed from in- ('in, upon') and habere ('to have, hold').