abstain
[ ab-steyn ]
/ æbˈsteɪn /
verb (used without object)
to hold oneself back voluntarily, especially from something regarded as improper or unhealthy (usually followed by from): to abstain from eating meat.
to refrain from casting one's vote: a referendum in which two delegates abstained.
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RELATED WORDS
quit, renounce, refrain, withhold, forgo, cease, shun, forbear, decline, refuse, spurn, avoid, eschew, stop, fast, abjure, curb, evade, pass, constrain
Nearby words
- absorption hygrometer,
- absorption spectrum,
- absorptive,
- absorptivity,
- absquatulate,
- abstainer,
- abstemious,
- abstention,
- abstentionism,
- abstergent
Origin of abstain
1350–1400; Middle English abste(i)nen < Middle French abstenir ≪ Latin abstinēre, equivalent to abs- abs- + -tinēre, combining form of tenēre to hold, keep
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for abstain
abstain
/ (əbˈsteɪn) /
verb (intr usually foll by from)
to choose to refrainhe abstained from alcohol
to refrain from voting, esp in a committee, legislature, etc
Word Origin for abstain
C14: via Old French from Latin abstinēre, from abs- ab- 1 + tenēre to hold, keep
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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abstain
late 14c., "to withhold oneself," from Old French abstenir (14c.), earlier astenir (13c.) "hold (oneself) back, refrain, abstain (from), practice abstinence," from Latin abstinere "withhold, keep back, keep off," from ab(s)- "from, away from" (see ab-) + tenere "to hold" (see tenet). Specifically of liquor, attested from late 14c. Of voting, 1796. Related: Abstained; abstaining.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper