Meanings
interjection
- idiomaticsubjunctiveindicating that the occurrence of something is very undesirable
God forbid anybody get any real work done around here.
2 more examples
If, God forbid, there's a fire, head for the nearest exit.
A: Do you think he'll win the election? B: God forbid!
Synonyms: heaven forbid, heaven forfend, heaven forfend, absit omen, heaven forbid, God forfend, lo aleinu · Antonyms: God willing, Lord willing, more at Thesaurus:God forbid
adv_phrase
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionindicating that the occurrence of something is very undesirable
Opposite
Translations
Ancient Greek μὴ γένοιτο
- μὴ γένοιτο (mḕ génoito)don't let it be
Arabic لَا سَمَحَ اللّٰه, لَا قَدَّرَ اللّٰه
- لَا سَمَحَ اللّٰه (lā samaḥa llāh)don't let it be
- لَا قَدَّرَ اللّٰه (lā qaddara llāh)don't let it be
- مَعَاذَ اللّٰهِ (maʕāḏa llāhi)don't let it be
Bengali খোদা না খাস্তা
- খোদা না খাস্তা (khōda na khasta)don't let it be
Bulgarian да не да́ва Го́спод, не дай си Бо́же
- да не да́ва Го́спод (da ne dáva Góspod)don't let it be
- не дай си Бо́же (ne daj si Bóže)don't let it be
Czech chraňbůh, Bože chraň
- chraňbůhdon't let it be
- Bože chraňdon't let it be
Danish gud forbyde
- gud forbydedon't let it be
Dutch god verhoede
- god verhoededon't let it be
Finnish Herra varjele
- Herra varjeledon't let it be
French à Dieu ne plaise, Dieu nous en préserve
- à Dieu ne plaisedon't let it be
- Dieu nous en préservedon't let it be
German Gott behüte, Gott bewahre
- Gott behütedon't let it be
- Gott bewahredon't let it be
- da sei Gott vordon't let it be
Greek ο μη γένοιτο, Θεός φυλάξοι
- ο μη γένοιτο (o mi génoito)don't let it be
- Θεός φυλάξοι (Theós fyláxoi)don't let it be
Hebrew חַס וְשָׁלוֹם, חָלִילָה
- חַס וְשָׁלוֹם (khas v'shalom)don't let it be
- חָלִילָה (ḥalíla)don't let it be
Hindi भगवान न करे, ईश्वर न करे
- भगवान न करे (bhagvān na kare)don't let it be
- ईश्वर न करे (īśvar na kare)don't let it be
- अल्लाह न करे (allāh na kare)don't let it be
Hungarian Isten őrizz!, Isten ments!
- Isten őrizz!don't let it be
- Isten ments!don't let it be
- nehogydon't let it be
- ne adj' istendon't let it be
Indonesian Tuhan melarang
- Tuhan melarangdon't let it be
Italian ci mancherebbe altro
- ci mancherebbe altrodon't let it be
Latin dī āverterint!, dī meliora!
- dī āverterint!don't let it be
- dī meliora!don't let it be
Latvian lai Dievs dod
- lai Dievs doddon't let it be
Malay Tuhan melarang
- Tuhan melarangdon't let it be
Norwegian Bokmål Gud forby
- Gud forbydon't let it be
Polish broń Boże, nie daj Bóg
- broń Bożedon't let it be
- nie daj Bógdon't let it be
- nie daj Bożedon't let it be
- niech Pan Bóg bronidon't let it be
- Boże uchowajdon't let it be
Portuguese Deus me perdoe, Deus me livre
- Deus me perdoedon't let it be
- Deus me livredon't let it be
- Deus me livre e guardedon't let it be
Romanian ferească Domnul, Doamne ferește
- ferească Domnuldon't let it be
- Doamne fereștedon't let it be
- ferească Dumnezeudon't let it be
Russian не дай бог, бо́же упаси́
- не дай бог (ne daj box)don't let it be
- бо́же упаси́ (bóže upasí)don't let it be
- сохрани́ го́споди (soxraní góspodi)don't let it be
- не приведи́ госпо́дь (ne privedí gospódʹ)don't let it be
Slovak Bože chráň, Pánboh ochraňuj
- Bože chráňdon't let it be
- Pánboh ochraňujdon't let it be
- nedaj Božedon't let it be
Spanish ¡Dios no lo quiera!, ¡Que Dios lo impida!
- ¡Dios no lo quiera!don't let it be
- ¡Que Dios lo impida!don't let it be
- ¡Dios nos libre!don't let it be
- Dios no lo quieradon't let it be
- Dios me libredon't let it be
Swedish Gud förbjude
- Gud förbjudedon't let it be
Turkish Allah korusun!, Allah muhafaza
- Allah korusun!don't let it be
- Allah muhafazadon't let it be
- Allah göstermesindon't let it be
- Allah saklasındon't let it be
- Tanrı korusundon't let it be
Ukrainian боро́нь бо́же, борони́ бо́же
- боро́нь бо́же (borónʹ bóže)don't let it be
- борони́ бо́же (boroný bóže)don't let it be
- сохрани́ бо́же (soxraný bóže)don't let it be
Urdu اَللّٰہ مُعاف کَرے, اَللّٰہ نَہ کَرے
- اَللّٰہ مُعاف کَرے (allāh mu'āf kare)don't let it be
- اَللّٰہ نَہ کَرے (allāh na kare)don't let it be
- خُدا نَخواسْتَہ (xudā naxvāsta)don't let it be
- مَعاذ اَللّٰہ (ma'āz allāh)don't let it be
Yiddish חס־ושלום, חלילה
- חס־ושלום (khas-vesholem)don't let it be
- חלילה (kholile)don't let it be
Cite this entry
APA
God forbid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/God%20forbid
MLA
“God forbid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/God%20forbid. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “God forbid,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/God%20forbid.
Source: God forbid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.