forbidden fruit

[fer-bid-n froot, fawr-bid-n] / fərˈbɪd n ˈfrut, fɔrˈbɪd n /

NOUN

immoral indulgence

Synonyms

WEAK

desired object forbidden indulgence golden apple illegal indulgence illegal pleasure illicit love immoral pleasure no-no prohibited article prohibition taboo

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The biblical passage recounts how the serpent, typically interpreted as the devil in Christian theology, tempted Eve to sin by eating the forbidden fruit.

From Salon • May 17, 2026

An early TV commercial for Apple Daily featured the then 48-year-old Lai biting the forbidden fruit while dozens of arrows took aim at him.

From BBC • Dec. 20, 2025

His WASPy Hubbell represents forbidden fruit to Streisand’s 1930s college activist; the movie gets its shout-out on “Sex and the City.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2025

This may be due to a "forbidden fruit" effect, which could make potentially aversive material more tempting to viewers.

From Science Daily • Oct. 12, 2023

But during the seventeenth century, musicians intrigued by the forbidden fruit opened up by chord sequences increasingly sought to be able to move from one mode to another.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall