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Definition of inhibition noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

inhibition

noun
 
/ˌɪnhɪˈbɪʃn/,
 
/ˌɪnɪˈbɪʃn/
 
/ˌɪnhɪˈbɪʃn/,
 
/ˌɪnɪˈbɪʃn/
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  1. [countable, uncountable] a shy or nervous feeling that stops you from expressing your real thoughts or feelings
    • The children were shy at first, but soon lost their inhibitions.
    • She had no inhibitions about making her opinions known.
    Extra Examples
    • They had no inhibitions about voicing their feelings.
    • Young children will participate in a drama class without inhibition.
    • an inhibition against certain behaviour
    Topics Feelingsc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + inhibition
    • have (no)
    • show (no)
    • lose
    preposition
    • without inhibition
    • inhibition about
    See full entry
  2. [uncountable] (formal) the act of limiting or preventing a process or an action
    • the inhibition of growth
  3. Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘forbidding, a prohibition’): from Latin inhibitio(n-), from the verb inhibere ‘hinder’, from in- ‘in’ + habere ‘hold’.
See inhibition in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee inhibition in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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