Definition
To inhibit is to hold back — to keep something from happening fully or freely. A drug can inhibit the growth of bacteria; shyness can inhibit a student from speaking; cold can inhibit a reaction. The word does not mean to stop dead so much as to restrain, dampen, and limit, keeping a process or impulse below the level it would otherwise reach. To be 'inhibited' is to be held in by self-consciousness, unable to let go.
Examples
- Too much shade will inhibit the seedlings and foster mould instead of healthy growth.
- The compound works by inhibiting the very enzyme that cells need in order to proliferate.
- Fear of judgment can inhibit even the most able student from asking questions.
Collocations
inhibit growth·inhibit a reaction·strongly inhibit·inhibit the development of·feel inhibited
Synonyms
hinder·restrain·curb·suppress·check
Antonyms
encourage·promote·foster
Word family
inhibition (noun)·inhibited (adjective)·inhibitor (noun)
In TOEFL & IELTS
Frequent in TOEFL science (inhibit a reaction, inhibit growth) and psychology (inhibited behavior). Use 'inhibit X from doing Y'. It is milder than 'prevent' — an inhibited process still happens, just less. The noun inhibition has both a scientific sense and an everyday one ('to lose your inhibitions'). An inhibitor is a substance that inhibits.