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forbidden fruit

forbidden fruit

4 5.3
A thing that looks very tempting but is not allowed and is risky
  • noun
  • /fərˈbɪdən frut/
  • Informal
translation icon : fruto prohibido
  • For 100 years, people have flocked to get a taste of its forbidden fruit.

Once we've tasted the forbidden fruit of perfection, will we still be human?

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Examples

  • We tasted the forbidden fruit and now we pay the price.

  • People came back hoping to see the forbidden fruit.

  • The forbidden fruit is finally in reach.

  • - Tempted by the forbidden fruit, huh?

  • When Adam disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit, God confronted him and asked, "Did you eat from the forbidden tree?"

    Blog text (26)
  • Once we've tasted the forbidden fruit of perfection, will we still be human?

  • Sometimes the forbidden fruit seems the sweetest, but you have to ask yourself, will the fruit get sweeter with age-- or just go bland?

  • The story of Adam and Eve is often seen as a cautionary tale about the temptation of forbidden fruit.

  • Many people are drawn to the idea of forbidden fruit, finding it more appealing because it is off-limits.

  • In life, sometimes we are tempted by forbidden fruit, even though we know it could lead to trouble.

Synonyms

temptation
vsforbidden fruit
192 3.8

A strong wish to do something, often something you should not do

is an attractive but banned object rather than the internal desire

How Tempting

obsession
262 5.1
temptation
192 3.8
forbidden fruit
  • Informal
4 5.3
attraction
88 2.1
curiosity
318 2.2
to interest
206 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

forbidden + fruit

The components 'forbidden' (not permitted) and 'fruit' (edible produce or metaphorically a reward) give a clear literal sense of something not allowed, but the idiomatic sense of an attractive or tempting thing depends on a cultural/metaphorical inference (Eden/temptation). A B1 learner who knows both words may grasp that it refers to something disallowed, but may not reliably infer the nuance of temptation without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Forbidden fruit comes from the Bible story of Adam and Eve, where they were told not to eat a certain fruit but wanted it very much. So today, forbidden fruit means something 'tempting' that is 'not allowed' or 'wrong'.