Inner feelings of shyness, embarrassment, or nervousness that prevent someone from doing something they might want to do.
From Latin 'inhibitio' and the verb 'inhibere,' meaning 'to hold in' or 'restrain,' composed of 'in-' (in) and 'habere' (to hold). The word originally had a physical meaning of holding something back, but evolved to describe psychological or emotional restraint.
Your inhibitions are literally what your brain is 'holding in'—which is why alcohol is said to lower them; it's not making you braver, it's just turning down the volume on that inner restraining force.
Disproportionately applied to women's sexuality as a pathology or social constraint. 20th-century psychology medicalized women's sexual caution while normalizing male aggression.
Use with equal application across genders. Avoid implying women's caution is psychological deficit while male assertion is natural.
["reservations","constraints","boundaries"]
Women's historical 'inhibitions' were often rational responses to legal and bodily vulnerability, not psychological dysfunction. Reclaim as conscious boundary-setting.
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