2 syllables: for, bear. Stress on bear.
fawr-BER
/fɔɹˈbɛɹ/
forbear is pronounced fawr-BER (/fɔɹˈbɛɹ/). It has two syllables (for-bear), with the stress on "bear". Forbear is a verb meaning to refrain from something or to endure with patience. It often appears in formal or legal contexts, or in literary usage, describing self-restraint or enduring hardship without complaint. The term can also function as a noun meaning a person who restrains or a relative in archaic usage, though in modern usage the verb sense dominates.
Forbear is a verb meaning to refrain from something or to endure with patience. It often appears in formal or legal contexts, or in literary usage, describing self-restraint or enduring hardship without complaint. The term can also function as a noun meaning a person who restrains or a relative in archaic usage, though in modern usage the verb sense dominates.
"- He chose to forbear from interrupting the speaker to allow her to finish."
"- The caretaker forbear from making any judgment until all facts were known."
"- In old letters, she warned her son to forbear himself during the crisis."
Forbear is pronounced with two syllables. In US/UK/AU, the common pronunciation places primary stress on the first syllable: /ˈfɔːrˌber/ (US) or /ˈfɔːr.bər/ (UK/AU). The second syllable begins with /b/ followed by a schwa or a light /ɜr/ depending on accent. Think 'FOR-bair' with a light, unstressed second syllable. If you hear ‘forbear’ as one syllable in rapid speech, you’re hearing assimilation into /ˈfɔːrˌbər/.
Two main pitfalls: (1) Merging the /r/ and /b/ so it sounds like /ˈfɔːrbə/ without a clear second syllable; ensure you keep the /ber/ as a distinct syllable with a voiced /b/ and a clear schwa or /ɜː/. (2) Reducing the first vowel to a short /ɔ/ or misplacing stress, producing /ˈfɔ/ + /ber/ as a single unit. Practice by emphasizing the second syllable onset /b/ and keeping the first vowel long: /ˈfɔːr-bər/ for US; /ˈfɔːr-beə/ in UK/AU.
US tends to use rhotacized vowels in the first syllable with a stronger /ɚ/ or /ər/ in the second syllable when linking, giving /ˈfɔːrˌbɚ/ or /ˈfɔːrˌber/. UK typically uses /ˈfɔː.bə/ or /ˈfɔː.bər/, with non-rhoticity affecting the second syllable. Australian often aligns with UK vowels but may reduce the second syllable slightly, producing /ˈfɔːbə/ or /ˈfɔːbʌ/. The key is the first syllable’s length and a clear /b/ onset in the second syllable.
The difficulty lies in balancing the long, tense vowel in the first syllable with a crisp onset of the /b/ in the second syllable, plus possible vowel shifts across accents. The second syllable often carries subtle schwa or a reduced vowel, which can blur if you’re not careful with timing. Also, the /r/ coloring in American accents can make /fɔr/ feel different from British/ Australian /fɔː/ sequences.
Forbear does not have silent letters in standard pronunciations, but subtle letter interplay can fool learners. The “r” in the first syllable is pronounced in rhotic accents (US) but less pronounced in non-rhotic accents (UK, AU) where /r/ is linked to following vowel or dropped before a vowel in connected speech. The second syllable begins with a clear /b/, and the vowel can shift toward schwa or a reduced /ɜː/ in rapid speech.
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Forbear traces to Old English forberan, from for- ‘away, from’ + beran ‘bear, endure’. The sense began as “to bear up under” or “to endure, suffer,” evolving into the modern verb meaning to refrain or to tolerate. The form later merged with ‘bear’ in Middle English, influenced by the notion of bearing oneself away from action or temptation. By the 14th century, “forbear” appeared in religious and legal texts with the meaning of refraining from acts, especially those that were wanton or forbidden. In later centuries, usage broadened into more everyday contexts of patience or endurance, distinct from simply “to bear.” The noun sense, as an archaic or formal designation for a restraining person, is attested but rare in contemporary English. The pronunciation follows a two-syllable pattern with primary stress on the first syllable, aligning with its Romance-derived spelling and English stress tendencies, while the semantic shift from endurance to restraint reflects a common semantic narrowing in English verb usage.
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Words that rhyme with "forbear"
-are sounds
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