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• n  a prejudice (especially in Polynesia and other South Pacific islands) that prohibits the use or mention of something because of its sacred nature
• n  an inhibition or ban resulting from social custom or emotional aversion
• v  declare as sacred and forbidden
• s  excluded from use or mention
  a taboo subject
• s  forbidden to profane use especially in South Pacific islands

• Freud thought man made the taboo because bleeding women awakened his dread of castration.
• It is considered taboo to read the prayers.
• In words, as in bathing suits and men's manners toward women, taboos change with the times.

• tabu
• forbidden
• out
• prohibited
• proscribed
• verboten

News & Articles

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• Politics get social
  For some, talking politics is considered taboo in a casual social setting but not so for some politic-minded meal-goers in Washington County.
  June 18, 2013 - The Spectrum
• Commentary: Speculation about Mandela’s fate seen as cultural taboo
  Commentary: Speculation about Mandela’s fate seen as cultural taboo by Zaheer Cassim And Catherine Featherston Usa Today Published Jun 17, 2013 02:04PM MDT Johannesburg • Will native son and national hero Nelson Mandela survive his latest bout with illness? That is the single question dominating headlines, speeches, Twitter and conversation throughout South Africa. It’s an unusual situation in a ...
  June 17, 2013 - The Salt Lake Tribune
• No Longer "Secretary," CEAs Hold Power in Silicon Valley
  It's taboo to label some of the Silicon Valley's most powerful people as secretaries
  June 17, 2013 - NBC Bay Area

Quotes

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• Xavier Bertrand in FOXNews
  Why not a nap at work? It can't be a taboo subject,Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said Monday.
• Ricardo Alarcon in 940 News
  Things "are advancing, but must continue advancing, and I think we should do that in a coherent, appropriate and precise way because these are topics that have been taboo and continue to be for many," Alarcon told reporters.
• Youssou N’Dour in Eurweb.com
  N'Dour said he hopes the documentary will help him "to break a taboo subject - that Islam is what the extremists do."