taboo subject• As unemploymentrose in 1992, redundancyceased to be a taboo subject.• By this time - the early seventies - homosexuality was no longer a taboo subject.• However, almost nothing else was considered a taboo subject.• On all counts - a taboo subject.• Rape is an equally taboo subject.• It is a taboo subject, and the marriage ceremonies are performed in secret.• This should certainly not be a taboo subject, but nor should it be used to flagellate the mass of teachers.• By talking about this taboo subject in prayers, sermons and Sunday-school lessons.
taboo2 noun (plural taboos) [countableC]
FORBIDa custom that says you must avoid a particular activity or subject, either because it is considered offensive or because your religion does not allow it 禁忌,忌讳
taboo about/on/against
There are taboos against appearing naked in public places.
在公共场所赤身露体是犯禁忌的。
nCOLLOCATIONS
adjectives
a social taboo
There is a social taboo against expressing negative views of other races.
a sexual taboo
The old sexual taboos had disappeared.
verbs
break/violate a taboo
He is willing to break the taboo about discussing the effects of large-scale immigration.
observe a taboo (=not do something that is considered offensive or unacceptable)
The Kalenjin people of Kenya still observe a taboo against eating fish.
phrases
the taboo surrounding something (=relating to something)
John's work did much to remove the taboo surrounding the disease.
Examples from the Corpus
taboo• Until a few years ago, there was a taboo around the subject of divorce.• Sickness may be considered to be a punishmentinflicted for neglect of certain taboos.• Kádár was fairly liberal in that respect, so long as a few taboos were respected, especially the role of the SovietUnion.• At other times, converse sets of taboos could be quite useful.• It is given to some presidents to break politicaltaboos for all time.• The rules are formally protected by supposedly powerfulreligioustaboos, breach of which will result in supernatural punishment for all concerned.• Through his work, Freud realised that some taboos of the time were much more commonly breached than was acknowledged by society.• Farce likes to tinker with such taboos.• But, of course, if you wanted to write seriously, then the taboos were difficult to avoid.
taboo about/on/against• There has long been a taboo on the eating of freshoysters during the months May through August.• Their main problem was breaking culturaltaboos about women attendingmarketsunaccompanied and tradingalone.• There seems to be nothing taboo about the subject: everyone agrees excision no longer happens.• There is a strong taboo againstmarryingoutside the group.• What is the taboo on life and liveliness inside the family?• Like Stanley Feingold before him, he had violated the taboo against discussing the limits of the remedial process.• These taboos against women as polluting to malesacredspace are very ancient.