forbidden book
Censored written work
A forbidden book is one that has been banned, censored, or suppressed by authorities—religious, political, or otherwise.
The phrase evokes works deemed dangerous to morals, faith, or social order: The library featured an exhibit of historically forbidden books.
The Catholic Church's Index of Forbidden Books listed prohibited texts for centuries.
Today the term often appears in discussions of censorship and intellectual freedom, sometimes with an ironic edge suggesting the forbidden is worth seeking out.
- bannedOfficially disallowed
- censoredSuppressed from publication
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- grimoireTextbook of sorcery
- occultConcealed from view
dark arts · black magic · secret · heresy · contraband · clandestine · burned · hidden · smuggled · underground · subversive · dangerous · arcane · spell · witch · inquisition · index · suppressed
- mystery objectscrystal ball, magic mirror, ancient scroll, glowing orb, sealed letter
- occult booksgrimoire, grimoires, spellbook, spellbooks, ancient tome
forbidden booksacred text
Holy religious writing
holy book · scripture · classic · literary canon · the Bible
forbid, forbids, forbidding, forbiddingly, forbidden, forbade, book, books, booked