Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: forberan

forbear

1 verb
     
for‧bear1 past tense forbore, past participle forborne [intransitive] literary
to not do something you could or would like to do because you think it is wiser not to
forbear from
He decided to forbear from interfering.
forbear to do something
Clara forbore to mention his name.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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