How to Use taboo in a Sentence

taboo

1 of 2 adjective
Definition of taboonext
Synonyms for taboonext
  • Sex is a taboo subject for many people.
  • In this company, dating a coworker is considered taboo.
  • Since the dawn of cell phones, it’s been taboo to use them at the movies.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 12 Oct. 2023
  • One of the most taboo things in the whole movie is about motherhood.
    — Amy MacKelden, ELLE, 18 June 2022
  • Over the last couple of years, the taboo topic of loss has been brought to the forefront.
    — Paolo Confino, Fortune, 24 Aug. 2022
  • Also on the long list of taboo objects for the Dalam: soap, shoes, pants and nails.
    — New York Times, 11 July 2022
  • The mom, who is 40, can’t wrap her head around how cannabis became so taboo in the first place.
    — Ellen McCarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 2 Oct. 2022
  • The subject of mental health has long been taboo in China.
    — Kimmy Yam, NBC News, 11 July 2023
  • At the time, Cher also wanted to wear Tabu by Dana, which was known for being… well, taboo.
    — Nicola Dall'asen, Allure, 22 Oct. 2022
  • For Black Jews and Black Muslims, their sacred texts inform them that pork is a taboo food.
    — Adrian Miller, Bon Appétit, 23 Aug. 2022
  • What interests you about the idea of these things that used to be taboo but now are entering the mainstream?
    — Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Dec. 2023
  • But while pale pink tends to be tied to all the innocence of girlhood, hot pink is, well, a lot hotter and more taboo.
    — Katy Kelleher, refinery29.com, 14 July 2022
  • Players covered in pads up to their ears was pretty taboo.
    — Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 12 Jan. 2024
  • There were plenty of stars in the building as the NFL brought its biggest game to this gambling mecca — once a taboo idea.
    — Rob Maaddi, Twin Cities, 12 Feb. 2024
  • The idea was shelved and, according to Mankins, remains a taboo subject for many at the agency.
    — Bydaniel Clery, science.org, 19 Oct. 2022
  • Creating new work by a late artist is usually taboo in the art world.
    — Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 14 May 2022
  • The post also paid tribute to the taboo topics explored in the high school setting throughout the first three seasons.
    — Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 5 July 2023
  • In many cases, people of color are afraid to speak up in the workplace and race is often seen as a taboo topic.
    — Amiah Taylor, Fortune, 3 May 2022
  • Her platform has since evolved into a forum to discuss even the most taboo topics.
    — Tara Aquino, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2022
  • Talking about money has long been taboo, and those with higher salaries don’t feel the need to share numbers that the underpaid do.
    — Jane Thier, Fortune, 12 Aug. 2022
  • The 39-year-old has been raising awareness for topics that have long been taboo in America.
    — Anna Halkidis, Parents, 25 Jan. 2024
  • And yet talking about the infirmities that come with age is largely taboo.
    — Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2023
  • While the subject of race remains taboo, Ms. Essaifi believes the events of the past week were a step toward speaking more openly about it.
    — Cara Anna, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 July 2023
  • Stopping procedural votes was once a rare and taboo move.
    — Ken Tran, USA TODAY, 10 Jan. 2024
  • It's either been too awkward or taboo to discuss with parents or something to tease and joke about in the locker room with pals and friends.
    — Sarah Fielding, Men's Health, 6 Dec. 2022
  • As a result of — or, maybe, as a precursor to — these changes in attitude, discussing menopause is no longer taboo.
    — Amy Larocca, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2022
  • So, taboo topics, or even just questions that aren’t as frequently asked.
    — Glenn Rowley, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2023
  • But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.
    — Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 7 Feb. 2024
  • What workers need to know about the overturn of Roe: Workplace political talk can be taboo.
    — Jena McGregor, Forbes, 6 July 2022
  • Money is still one of the most taboo topics of conversation in the workplace, which is a disadvantage for all of us.
    — Tanyel Mustafa, refinery29.com, 11 Dec. 2023
Advertisement

taboo

2 of 2 noun
  • Marrying a close relative is a taboo in many cultures.
  • But the writing of the taboo can be a metaphor for other things.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 May 2022
  • And, that taboo still exists, that red line is still very bright.
    — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2023
  • That’s obviously dealt with in the film; the whole scary clown thing, which is like a taboo.
    — Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 July 2023
  • And for now, there are good reasons why these taboos still exist.
    — WIRED, 25 Sep. 2023
  • The use of nuclear weapons by Russia would break a taboo against their use in war that has held since 1945.
    — Stephen Fidler, WSJ, 19 May 2022
  • Maybe not your usual taboo, tabloid-fare acting, if that makes sense.
    — Kate Aurthur, Variety, 18 Apr. 2022
  • Some of the media’s silence about these tragedies has less to do with taboo and more with prevention.
    — Justin Raystaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2022
  • By World War II it was considered taboo to even to let a bra strap slide down a shoulder.
    — Christina Binkley, Town & Country, 23 Aug. 2022
  • What style taboo will this rogue Jennifer Lawrence embrace next?
    — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 23 Aug. 2023
  • However, the film tries to avoid moral judgments, and even embraces taboos.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 3 Aug. 2023
  • But no one was daring enough to pursue it as a career because at the time it was looked at as taboo.
    — Thania Garcia, Variety, 31 Oct. 2023
  • France struggles to confront one of its biggest taboos: race.
    — Elvia Limón, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2023
  • The character of Elle is obsessed with taboo and breaking taboos.
    — Peter Strickland Wants, Vulture, 26 June 2022
  • One longstanding taboo is being tossed aside in the quest for soldiers.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 10 July 2022
  • Even discussing the events chronicled here is still a huge taboo in the underworld.
    — Jake Adelstein, Rolling Stone, 17 Oct. 2023
  • What was once an old style taboo is, clearly, now a fresh color pairing.
    — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 9 Oct. 2023
  • The movie probes the taboo of a mother whose needs don’t align with those of her children and, facing that conflict, chooses herself.
    — Jordan Kisner, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2022
  • But scientists can’t say the same for female pleasure, and the taboo around clitorises has stuck.
    — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 13 Dec. 2022
  • No question is more taboo to 49ers officials than this one.
    — Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2024
  • While some may find the topics of death and funerals macabre or taboo, Keeney strongly disagrees.
    — Ariana Garcia, Chron, 13 May 2022
  • Their smaller size, some experts fear, could break down the nuclear taboo.
    — Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2022
  • What is not clear is how the ear might universally assign sounds as markers of taboo and nontaboo words.
    — Emily Willingham, Scientific American, 6 Dec. 2022
  • For many of us, hugging was de rigueur before the pandemic made touching taboo.
    — Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2022
  • The real winner of the Israeli election may not be Benjamin Netanyahu, but the country’s once taboo far right.
    — Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2022
  • Dear Miss Manners: Why is it considered taboo to ask a woman her age?
    — Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2022
  • Why the sudden change, since this question was treated as taboo in 2020, and where would Democrats turn if Biden declined to run for re-election?
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 19 June 2022
  • Friðriksdóttir was asked whether there had been a taboo about menstrual blood.
    — Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2022
  • Though these objects may have been owned by non-Judeans, the finds suggest that at least some Jerusalem residents did not abide by the graven images taboo.
    — Andrew Lawler, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Nov. 2022
  • Protesters called for checks on the king’s power, breaking a social taboo in a country where the monarch has always been revered.
    — Muktita Suhartono, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'taboo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: