verb · academic
inhibit
/ɪnˈhɪbɪt/in·HIB·it
Band 6-7task2task1
to prevent or slow down a process, action, or feeling
Examples
“High levels of air pollution inhibit plant growth in the area.”
“Fear of failure can inhibit students from taking risks in exams.”
“Certain chemicals inhibit the action of enzymes.”
Band 8 sentence
“While certain policies aim to protect traditional industries, they may inadvertently inhibit innovation and long‑term competitiveness.”
Collocations
- inhibit growth/process/ability
- strongly/inhibit
Word family
inhibition nouninhibitory adj
Common mistakes
inhibit to do→inhibit from doing / inhibit
inhibit the growth of people→inhibit people's growth / inhibit the growth of plants
Say it for a higher band
5stop→6prevent→7+inhibit
Synonyms
prevent
restrict
Easily confused
prevent
“Strict security measures prevented unauthorised access to the laboratory.”
Related words
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In Sublist 5
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