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🇵🇹Portuguese Source WordCode: PT

tabu

Pronunciation / Transliteration: /taˈbu/

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Taboo/təˈbuː/
nounadjectiveverbCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #4500 frequency
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🇵🇹 Example Sentence in Portuguese:

"Precisamos quebrar o tabu em torno desta doença."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A social or religious custom prohibiting or forbidding discussion of a particular practice or association with a particular person, place, or thing.

    "In many cultures, discussing personal finances remains a major social taboo."
As adjective
  1. 1

    Prohibited or restricted by social custom.

    "Certain subjects were considered strictly taboo at the family dinner table."
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Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the Tongan word 'tapu' (meaning forbidden or sacred), which was encountered by Captain James Cook in Polynesia during his 1777 voyage. The term entered English and other European languages to describe social customs prohibiting specific acts, subjects, or objects.

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