4

I am looking for a single word that means "not up for discussion", "will not discuss this topic", a topic that is out of bounds. noun/adjective? Example, "Several months ago, our daughter made talking about her weight _______".

Edit: Please excuse my failure to follow the proper format. I believed that the word began with a "v" but to cite where I searched? Seemingly everywhere online. I found numerous options including "out of bounds" and "off limits" but not the one word that I knew existed. My search brought me here so clearly I'd been looking for a time.

However, thank you. I know the post is on hold but I was able to view some of the answers to my question regardless and the answer I was looking for was provided. As I type this, I can't "see" who posted it but thank you to that person. I'd also like to thank/cite my 82 y/o mom because as I was viewing the answer here, I was on the phone with her and she immediately knew the word I was searching for.

It seems like it would be wrong of me to post the answer since it was provided by someone else so again, thank you and have a nice day.

3
  • 1
    For some reason, off-topic is the first word that springs to mind here. I would say unmentionable if its plural noun form didn't mean undergarments, and a word like that--one that has a root that is nearly synonymous with talk--would sound somewhat redundant in that sentence as stated. Therefore, some may suggest nonspecific words, e.g off-limits or...inadmissible, a family fave, which also applies to evidence, etc.
    – user294180
    Commented Nov 17, 2018 at 1:29
  • 1
    Thank you for asking. Some information is needed to help us to give you the correct answer. Please edit to add details of research you’ve done, especially solutions you’ve already rejected, and why. Include the desired connotation, register (formality), part of speech, and context in which it is to be used, and provide the exact enclosing sentence or passage. See: “How much research is needed? – EL&U Meta”.
    – MetaEd
    Commented Nov 17, 2018 at 16:33
  • 1
    Well, you can't post an answer, as long as the question is on hold. And you wouldn't be taking credit away from the author just by identifying which of the posted answers is the one you wanted. But, even better, you can acknowledge the best answer by clicking on the checkmark to the left of the answer. (Also, you should be able to see the authors' names — they are to the right of their pictures/identicons. Some of them might not be immediately recognizable as names, though; they include initials, userNNNNNN, nicknames, joke names, etc.) Commented Nov 18, 2018 at 2:28

5 Answers 5

7

Per Merriam-Webster

verboten (adj): forbidden, prohibited by dictate

"We're Jewish, so talking about Santa Claus at home is verboten."

"Hate speech is verboten on this campus."

4
  • That's made it into English now? Great! Commented Nov 17, 2018 at 5:32
  • You can also try the English counterpart "forbidden"..
    – neptun
    Commented Nov 21, 2018 at 14:14
  • Using the (almost identical) German word for something which already exists in English would seem very unnecessary and strange for people who know German.
    – neptun
    Commented Nov 21, 2018 at 14:26
  • Well, English is known for "borrowing" words from other languages...
    – miltonaut
    Commented Nov 25, 2018 at 3:27
3

My grandmother never spoke of her family

my mother told me the topic was taboo as she lost them when young.

1.1 A practice that is prohibited or restricted by social or religious custom.

from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/taboo

2

The subject is off-limits:

not to be interfered with, considered, or spoken of

  • the subject of sex was off-limits in her family

(M-W)

Several months ago, our daughter made talking about her weight “off-limits".

1

I can suggest a compound word: off-limits:

used to say that people are not allowed to talk about something

(source: Merriam-Webster, English Language Learners Dictionary)

0

non-grata TFD

Not welcome; not approved

and

non grata Collins Dictionary

adjective; informal

unwelcome

As in:

He felt rather non grata!

and your sample sentence:

"Several months ago, our daughter made talking about her weight non-grata!

2
  • Your link isn't properly structured, so it doesn't work. There is 'gratis' and 'persona non grata' but I'm not sure about 'non-grata' on its own, as English.
    – Nigel J
    Commented Nov 21, 2018 at 11:54
  • The referenced dictionaries support "non grata" without "persona", so it is technically correct, although it certainly seems an unusual usage.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Nov 21, 2018 at 14:54

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .