FORBIDDEN FRUIT Definition & Meaning

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forbidden fruit

[ fer-bid-n froot, fawr-bid-n ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

(in the Bible) the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, tasted by Adam and Eve against God's prohibition.
any unlawful pleasure, especially illicit sexual indulgence.
pomelo ( def 1 ).

forbidden fruit

noun

any pleasure or enjoyment regarded as illicit, esp sexual indulgence

forbidden fruit

The fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden , often pictured as an apple, which God forbade Adam and Eve to eat. Their disobedience brought about the Fall of Man .

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Notes

“Forbidden fruit” is used commonly to refer to anything that is tempting but potentially dangerous. It is often associated with sexuality.

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of forbidden fruit¹

First recorded in 1660–70

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Idioms and Phrases

Unlawful pleasure or enjoyment; illicit love. For example, After Mary moved in with John, Tom began courting her—forbidden fruit is sweet, I guess , or Smoking behind the woodshed, that's a case of forbidden fruit . This expression alludes to Adam and Eve's violation of God's commandment not to touch fruit from the tree of knowledge, which resulted in their expulsion from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6). In the form forbidden fruit is sweet it appeared in numerous early English proverb collections.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Apprehensive Adam looks upon her with a head-scratching degree of uneasy anticipation, an apple clutched low in his hand, deferring to the forbidden fruit confidently raised in hers.

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It may be that the thought of breaking up with the offending food turns it into forbidden fruit, which makes you want it even more.

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This may be due to a "forbidden fruit" effect, which could make potentially aversive material more tempting to viewers.

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Many biblical scholars assert Eve tempted Adam with the forbidden fruit on a Friday.

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In my Christian Nationalist indoctrination, everything started with Adam and Eve: The Garden of Eden, the serpent, the forbidden fruit.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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