1. The act of inhibiting, or the state of being inhibited; restraint;
prohibition; embargo.
2. (Physiol.) A stopping or checking of an already present action; a
restraining of the function of an organ, or an agent, as a digestive
fluid or ferment, etc.; as, the inhibition of the respiratory center by
the pneumogastric nerve; the inhibition of reflexes, etc.
3. (Law) A writ from a higher court forbidding an inferior judge from
further proceedings in a cause before; esp., a writ issuing from a
higher ecclesiastical court to an inferior one, on appeal. Cowell.
In*hib"i*tor (?), n. [NL.] That which causes inhibitory action; esp.,
an inhibitory nerve.
In*hib"i*to*ry (?), a. [LL. inhibitorius: cf. F. inhibitoire.] Of or
pertaining to, or producing, inhibition; consisting in inhibition;
tending or serving to inhibit; as, the inhibitory action of the
pneumogastric on the respiratory center.